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English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
word ''militant'' is both an
adjective In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Tra ...
and a
noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...
, and it is generally used to mean vigorously
active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
,
combative Combatives is the term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques within the Army branch of the United States military. History Sometimes called Close-Quarters Combat (CQC or close combat), World War II-era American combatives were large ...
and/or
aggressive Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
"''warrior''" meaning "to serve as a soldier". The related modern concept of the
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
as a defensive organization against invaders grew out of the Anglo-Saxon
fyrd A fyrd () was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and ...
. In times of crisis, the
militiaman A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
left his civilian duties and became a soldier until the emergency was over, when he returned to his civilian occupation. The current meaning of ''militant'' does not usually refer to a registered soldier: it can be anyone who subscribes to the idea of using vigorous, sometimes extreme, activity to achieve an objective, usually political. A "militant oliticalactivist" would be expected to be more confrontational and aggressive than an activist not described as militant. Militance may or may not include
physical violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...
, armed
combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
,
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, and the like. The
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
Militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
group in the United Kingdom published a newspaper, was active in labour disputes, moved resolutions in political meetings, but was not based on violence. The purpose of the Christian
Church Militant In some strains of Christian theology, the Christian Church may be divided into: *the Church Militant (), also called the Church Pilgrim which consists of Christians on earth who struggle as Miles Christianus, soldiers of Christ against Christia ...
is to struggle against sin, the
devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
and ". . . the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12), but it is not a violent movement.


As adjective

Militant can mean "vigorously
active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
and
aggressive Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
, especially in support of a cause" as in 'militant reformers'.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (''AHD'') is an American English, American dictionary of English published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969. ...
, defines ''militant'' as "Having a combative character; aggressive, especially in the service of a cause". The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...
defines ''militant'' as "aggressively active (as in a cause)". It says that the word ''militant'' might typically be used in phrases such as 'militant conservationists' or 'a militant attitude'. An example of the adjective usages is demonstrated when ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' ran an article titled ''Militant Environmentalists Planning Summer Protests to Save Redwoods'' describing a group that believes in "confrontational demonstrations" and "nonviolent tactics" to get across their message of preserving the environment. Another usage example includes 'a militant political activist', drawing attention to behaviours typical of those engaged in intensive political activism. The political protests headed by the Reverend
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic ...
have been described as militant in nature in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. In general usage, a ''militant'' person is a ''confrontational'' person who does not necessarily use violence. ''Militant'' is often used within some religious circles to denote the continuous battle of Christians (as church members) or the
Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...
in their struggle against sin. In particular, the Roman Catholic Church differentiates between
Church militant and church triumphant In some strains of Christian theology, the Christian Church may be divided into: *the Church Militant (), also called the Church Pilgrim which consists of Christians on earth who struggle as soldiers of Christ against sin, the devil, and "the r ...
.
Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...
, one of the founders of the
Seventh-day Adventist church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, says "Now the church is militant. Now we are confronted with a world in darkness, almost wholly given over to idolatry." Such religious meaning must not be confused with the word '
belligerent A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning ...
' used to describe extremist religious behaviours found in some who, based on their extreme religious beliefs or ideologies, take up weapons and become involved in warfare, or who commit acts of violence or terrorism in an attempt to advance their extremist religious agendas. Such extremist groups can be Christian, Muslims, Jewish, or of any other religious affiliation.


As noun

A ''militant'', as a noun, is a person who uses militant methods in pursuit of an objective; the term is not associated with the military. ''Militant'' can refer to an individual displaying aggressive behavior or attitudes. ''Militant'' is sometimes used as a
euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
for ''terrorist'' or ''armed insurgent''. (For more on this, see
mass media usage Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
below.) The word "militant" is sometimes used to describe groups that do not name or describe themselves as militants, but that advocate
extreme violence Graphic violence refers to the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as film, television, and video games. It may be real, simulated live action, or animated. Intended limitedly for mature ...
. In the early 21st century, members of groups involved in
Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities f ...
such as
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
and
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
are usually described as militants.


Mass media usage

Newspapers, magazines, and other information sources may deem ''militant'' a neutral term, whereas ''terrorist'' or '' guerrilla'' conventionally indicates disapproval of the behavior of the individual or organization so labeled, regardless of the motivations for such behavior. ''Militant'', at other times, can refer to anyone not a member of formal
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
engaging in warfare or serving as a
combatant Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It ...
. The mass media sometimes uses the term "''militant''" in the context of terrorism. Journalists sometimes apply the term ''militant'' to
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
movements using terrorism as a tactic. The mass media also has used the term ''militant groups'' or ''radical militants'' for terrorist organizations.Sanders, Clinton. Marginal Conventions: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Social Deviance. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1990. Decoding the Mass Media and Terrorism Connection. Page 98.


Legal inferences

Those resisting a foreign military occupation can be seen as not meriting the label ''terrorists'' because their acts of political violence against military targets of a foreign occupier do not violate international law. Protocol 1 of the
Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
gives lawful combatant status to those engaging in armed conflicts against alien (or foreign)
occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...
, colonial domination and racist régimes. Non-uniformed guerrillas also gain combatant status if they carry
arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...
openly during
military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...
s. Protocol 1 does not legitimize attacks on civilians by militants who fall into these categories. In the
UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
Resolution on terrorism (42/159, 7 December 1987). which condemns international terrorism and outlines measures to combat the crime, with one proviso: "that nothing in the present resolution could in any way prejudice the right to self-determination, freedom and independence, as derived from the
Charter of the United Nations The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
, of peoples forcibly deprived of that right .. particularly peoples under colonial and racist regimes and foreign occupation or other forms of colonial domination, nor...the right of these peoples to struggle to this end and to seek and receive support
n accordance with the Charter and other principles of international law N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
"


Span of militancy

Militants occur across the
political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...
, including racial or religious supremacists,
separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...
s, abortion opponents and proponents, and environmentalists. Examples of left-wing, right-wing, and
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
militants include militant reformers, militant feminists, militant
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
advocates, and militant anarchists. The phrase ''
militant Islam Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
'' can suggest violent and aggressive political activity by Islamic individuals, groups, movements, or governments. There are also various secret societies that are classified as militant groups. Using the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
's authority to assassinate people worldwide who pose an "imminent threat" if "capture is not feasible", the Obama administration routinely called every victim of
extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...
a militant.


Organizations

Among organisations that describe themselves as militants, the
Ulster Young Militants The Ulster Young Militants (UYM) are considered to be the youth wing of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. Commonly known as the Young Militants or UYM, the group formed in 1974 when t ...
are an example of a group resorting to violence (intimidation, arson, and murder) as a deliberate tactic.


Militant research

Militant research is defined as a type of research that is distinct from academia while also not synonymous with the political militant. It refuses the alienating practices of academia which separate researchers from the political meaning of their activity. In recent years it has become an increasingly popular approach for doing research especially since it attempt to resolve academic concerns related to representation and auto-critique.


See also

Compare and contrast these related articles: *
Activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
– individuals in intentional action to bring about social or political change. *
Belligerent A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning ...
– one of a contracting parties in a conflict. *
Church militant In some strains of Christian theology, the Christian Church may be divided into: *the Church Militant (), also called the Church Pilgrim which consists of Christians on earth who struggle as Miles Christianus, soldiers of Christ against Christia ...
(Ecclesia Militans) – Christians who are living. *
combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
or fighting – purposeful conflict between one or more persons, often involving violence and intended to establish dominance over the opposition. *
combatant Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It ...
– a soldier or guerrilla member who is waging war. *
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
r – Christian warriors in a series of several military campaigns—usually sanctioned by the Papacy—that took place during the 11th through 13th century. Used contemporarily to describe people that attack Islam, whether perceived or real. * demonstrator – an individual who is publicly displaying the common opinion of an activist group, often economically, political, or socially, by gathering in a crowd, usually at a symbolic place or date, associated with that opinion. *
extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
– ideas or actions thought by critics to be hyperbolic and unwarranted. *
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
or freebooter – is someone who engages in an (at least nominally) unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country or territory to foment or support a revolution. *
fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...
– anti-modernist movements in various religions. * guerrilla – small combat groups and the individual members of such groups operating with small, mobile and flexible combat groups called cells, without a front line. *
imminent threat Hugo Grotius, the 17th century jurist and father of public international law, stated in his 1625 magnum opus ''The Law of War and Peace'' that "Most Men assign three Just Causes of War, Defence, the Recovery of what's our own, and Punishment." O ...
– a criterion in international law, developed over the
Caroline affair The ''Caroline'' affair (also known as the ''Caroline'' case) was a diplomatic crisis beginning in 1837 involving the United States, the UK, and the Canadian independence movement. The modest military incident has taken grand international l ...
, described as being "instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation."; the
Caroline test The ''Caroline ''test is a 19th-century formulation of customary international law, reaffirmed by the Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II, which said that the necessity for preemptive self-defense must be "instant, overwhelming, and leaving no ...
has as additional criterion that the response must be proportionate to the threat. *
insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric na ...
– an armed rebellion by any irregular armed force that rises up against an established authority, government, administration or occupation. *
jihadi Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
st – political neologism used to describe violent persons and movements in contemporary Islam. *
man-at-arms A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully- armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a kni ...
– medieval term for a soldier, almost always a professional. *
mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
– soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. *
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
– any armed force, it generally refers to a permanent, professional force of soldiers or guerrillas. *
Militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
(or the Militant tendency) – Trotskyist group active as an
entryist Entryism (also called entrism, enterism, or infiltration) is a political strategy in which an organisation or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organization in an attempt to expand influence and expand the ...
group within the UK Labour Party who were found to be in breach of the Labour Party's constitution. The group existed in this form from 1964 to 1991. *
mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
– Muslim fighters; literally means "strugglers" or "people doing jihad". The traditional Arabic term for a "jihadist". *
partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...
– member of a lightly equipped irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. *
privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
– a private person who engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war, and often is rewarded with booty obtained. *
protester A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
– expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations: sometimes in favour, more often opposed. *
preemptive strike A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...
– a surprise attack to counter an anticipated enemy offensive. *
rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...
– individuals who participate in rebellions. *
Reform Movement A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...
– kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of the society rather than rapid or fundamental changes. *
riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
er – people in crowds committing crimes or acts of violence *
soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
– person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. *
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
– any individual(s) who establish their own form of justice or forms a collaboration with law enforcement to fight against criminal activities. Usually militant, armed, and not complying with the rule of law. *
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
– state of widespread conflict between states, organisations, or relatively large groups of people, which is characterised by the use of violent, physical force between combatants or upon civilians. *
warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...
– person habitually engaged in combat. In tribal societies, warriors often form a caste or class of their own. *
zealot The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...
– an individual who is ''zealous on behalf of God''.


References

{{reflist English words Activism Rebels by type Definitions da:Militans de:Militanz fr:Militant ja:過激派 vi:Chiến binh quá khích