Meanings
nounwarlord (plural warlords)
plural warlords · alternative war lord · alternative war-lord
- A military commander or bandit leader wielding civilian power in an area where the government is weak.
“I’m not a warlord … I’m a liberator of the people,” he said. That’s the problem: So are they all. More than four million people have died in Congo’s wars since 1998, making it the most lethal conflict since World War II.
2007 June 18, Nicholas Kristof, quoting Laurent Nkunda, “Dinner With a Warlord”, in The New York Times, →ISSN1 more example
Afghanistan's first major battle of the post-Taliban era ended tonight when the soldiers of the warlord besieging this strategic city south of Kabul ran out of ammunition and fled the battlefront in clouds of dust, cursing the warlord to his face for his callousness in committing them to a fight they were doomed to lose.
2002 February 1, John F. Burns, “Warlord Fends Off Warlord, Echoing Afghans' Bitter Past”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
Translations
Arabic أَمِير حَرْب
- أَمِير حَرْب (ʔamīr ḥarb)high military officer in a warlike nation
Bulgarian военачалник
- военачалник (voenačalnik)high military officer in a warlike nation
Catalan senyor de la guerra
- senyor de la guerrahigh military officer in a warlike nation
Chinese Mandarin 軍閥 /军阀, 督軍 /督军
- 軍閥 /军阀 (jūnfá)high military officer in a warlike nation
- 督軍 /督军 (dūjūn)high military officer in a warlike nation
- 將軍 /将军 (jiāngjun)high military officer in a warlike nation
- 軍閥 /军阀 (jūnfá)local ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
- 督軍 /督军 (dūjūn)local ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Danish krigsherre, krigsherre
- krigsherrehigh military officer in a warlike nation
- krigsherrelocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Dutch krijgsheer
- krijgsheerhigh military officer in a warlike nation
Estonian sõjapealik
- sõjapealikhigh military officer in a warlike nation
Finnish sotapäällikkö, sotaherra
- sotapäällikköhigh military officer in a warlike nation
- sotaherralocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
French seigneur de guerre, seigneur de la guerre
- seigneur de guerrehigh military officer in a warlike nation
- seigneur de la guerrelocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
German Kriegsherr, Kriegsherr
- Kriegsherrhigh military officer in a warlike nation
- Kriegsherrlocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
- Warlordlocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
- Kriegsfürstlocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Greek πολέμαρχος
- πολέμαρχος (polémarchos)high military officer in a warlike nation
Hungarian hadúr, hadúr
- hadúrhigh military officer in a warlike nation
- hadúrlocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Irish taoiseach cogaidh, taoiseach cogaidh
- taoiseach cogaidhhigh military officer in a warlike nation
- taoiseach cogaidhlocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Italian signore della guerra, signore della guerra
- signore della guerrahigh military officer in a warlike nation
- signore della guerralocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Japanese 将軍
- 将軍 (shōgun)high military officer in a warlike nation
Korean 장군, 군벌
- 장군 (janggun)high military officer in a warlike nation
- 군벌 (gunbeol)local ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Polish watażka
- watażkalocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Portuguese senhor da guerra, caudilho
- senhor da guerrahigh military officer in a warlike nation
- caudilholocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
- senhor da guerralocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Russian главнокома́ндующий, военача́льник
- главнокома́ндующий (glavnokomándujuščij)high military officer in a warlike nation
- военача́льник (vojenačálʹnik)high military officer in a warlike nation
- воево́да (vojevóda)high military officer in a warlike nation
- полково́дец (polkovódec)high military officer in a warlike nation
- кома́ндующий (komándujuščij)high military officer in a warlike nation
- полево́й команди́р (polevój komandír)local ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
- милитари́ст (militaríst)local ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Spanish señor de la guerra, caudillo
- señor de la guerrahigh military officer in a warlike nation
- caudillohigh military officer in a warlike nation
- señor de la guerralocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
- caudillolocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Swedish krigsherre, krigsherre
- krigsherrehigh military officer in a warlike nation
- krigsherrelocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Turkish komutan
- komutanhigh military officer in a warlike nation
Welsh cadlywydd, cadlywydd
- cadlywyddhigh military officer in a warlike nation
- cadlywyddlocal ruler or bandit leader where the government is weak
Cite this entry
APA
warlord. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warlord
MLA
“warlord.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warlord. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “warlord,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warlord.
Source: warlord on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.