freedom fighter

noun

1. a fighter for freedom, especially a person who battles against established forces of tyranny and dictatorship.

freedom fighter

noun

1. a militant revolutionary

Word History and Origins

Origin of freedom fighter¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

The entrepreneur, who was born in Germany and lives in New Zealand, has described himself as an "internet freedom fighter".

From BBC

Stepan Bandera was the leader of a Ukrainian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s that included a rebel militia which fought alongside invading Nazi forces in World War II. Bandera’s supporters see him as a freedom fighter for Ukraine against Soviet oppression while Kremlin supporters paint him as a Nazi collaborator who massacred Jews.

From Seattle Times

"Me, myself, I am a freedom fighter and I want them to be free from the Sambisa Forest regardless of the situation they find themselves when they come out, whether Muslim or married or not."

From BBC

"I was a history major before I went to law school and I wanted to get into that; discuss the fact that one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist," she says.

From BBC

His fellow freedom fighter and inmate Tokyo Sexwale recounted the story on the 2019 podcast “Dolly Parton’s America.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• commando
• mercenary
• terrorist