Meanings
nounhuman shield (plural human shields)
plural human shields
- governmentCivilians which a military group has deliberately placed combat targets near to deter an enemy from attacking those targets.
- figurativelyrhetoricThird parties used cynically to divert attention away from accusations against oneself.
1 more example
And after the past few days, in which a fleet of Republicans and the president himself have utilized Jews as human shields for racist rhetoric, the Jews are tired, tired, tired of being used as defenses against naked racism, tired of being used to justify conditions at detention camps. Just plain tired.
2019 July 17, Talia Lavin, “When Non-Jews Wield Anti-Semitism as Political Shield”, in GQ
Synonyms & antonyms
Narrower
Translations
Afrikaans menslik skild
- menslik skildcivilians placed in or around targets
Arabic دِرْع بَشَرِيّ, دُرُوع بَشَرِيَّة
- دِرْع بَشَرِيّ (dirʕ bašariyy)civilians placed in or around targets
- دُرُوع بَشَرِيَّة (durūʕ bašariyya)civilians placed in or around targets
Bulgarian чове́шки щит
- чове́шки щит (čovéški štit)civilians placed in or around targets
Catalan escut humà
- escut humàcivilians placed in or around targets
Chinese Mandarin 人盾, 人體盾牌 /人体盾牌
- 人盾 (réndùn)civilians placed in or around targets
- 人體盾牌 /人体盾牌 (réntǐ dùnpái)civilians placed in or around targets
Danish menneskeskjold
- menneskeskjoldcivilians placed in or around targets
Dutch menselijk schild
- menselijk schildcivilians placed in or around targets
Esperanto homa ŝildo
- homa ŝildocivilians placed in or around targets
Finnish ihmiskilpi
- ihmiskilpicivilians placed in or around targets
French bouclier humain
- bouclier humaincivilians placed in or around targets
German menschlicher Schutzschild
- menschlicher Schutzschildcivilians placed in or around targets
Greek ανθρώπινη ασπίδα
- ανθρώπινη ασπίδα (anthrópini aspída)civilians placed in or around targets
Hungarian élő pajzs
- élő pajzscivilians placed in or around targets
Indonesian perisai manusia, tameng manusia
- perisai manusiacivilians placed in or around targets
- tameng manusiacivilians placed in or around targets
Italian scudo umano
- scudo umanocivilians placed in or around targets
Japanese 人間の盾
- 人間の盾 (ningen no tate)civilians placed in or around targets
Korean 인간 방패
- 인간 방패 (in'gan bangpae)civilians placed in or around targets
Norwegian menneskelig skjold
- menneskelig skjoldcivilians placed in or around targets
Polish ludzka tarcza
- ludzka tarczacivilians placed in or around targets
Portuguese escudo humano
- escudo humanocivilians placed in or around targets
Romanian scut uman
- scut umancivilians placed in or around targets
Russian живо́й щит, челове́ческий щит
- живо́й щит (živój ščit)civilians placed in or around targets
- челове́ческий щит (čelovéčeskij ščit)civilians placed in or around targets
Slovak ľudský štít
- ľudský štítcivilians placed in or around targets
Spanish escudo humano
- escudo humanocivilians placed in or around targets
Swedish mänsklig sköld
- mänsklig sköldcivilians placed in or around targets
Thai โล่มนุษย์
- โล่มนุษย์ (lôo-má-nút)civilians placed in or around targets
Ukrainian живи́й щит, людськи́й щит
- живи́й щит (žyvýj ščyt)civilians placed in or around targets
- людськи́й щит (ljudsʹkýj ščyt)civilians placed in or around targets
Vietnamese lá chắn sống
- lá chắn sốngcivilians placed in or around targets
Cite this entry
APA
human shield. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/human%20shield
MLA
“human shield.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/human%20shield. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “human shield,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/human%20shield.
Source: human shield on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.