Militant

How to spell militant

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce militant

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does militant mean?

1. adjectiveAggressively active and confrontational in support of a political or social cause.
2. nounA person who is aggressively active in pursuing a political or social cause, often willing to use confrontational methods.

Militant in a sentence

• adjective

  The union adopted a more militant stance during the pay dispute.

• noun

  A hardline militant disrupted the council meeting with chanting.

• adjective

  She became increasingly militant in her campaign for tenants' rights.

• noun

  The party leadership tried to distance itself from every militant in its ranks.

Where does militant come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin verb militare, meaning 'to serve as a soldier', which was itself built on the noun miles (stem milit-), the ordinary Latin word for a soldier. The present participle militans, militantis literally meant 'soldiering' or 'serving in arms', and that participial form is the direct ancestor of the modern ending in -ant. English took the word in during the fifteenth century, originally in religious contexts: the 'Church Militant' described believers on earth still struggling against sin, as opposed to the 'Church Triumphant' in heaven. Over time the sense broadened from literal warfare to any aggressive, combative championing of a cause, whether political, industrial, or social. The same Latin root for soldier survives in close relatives such as 'military' and 'militia', and remembering that shared milit- spelling helps keep the single l and the t firmly in place.

How the word is built

• milit- (from Latin miles, militis: soldier)
• -ant (adjective/agent suffix, denoting one performing or characterised by an action)