con·script
ˈkän-ˌskript 
1
: enrolled into service by compulsion : drafted
2
: made up of conscripted persons
con·script
kən-ˈskript
conscripted; conscripting; conscripts
: to enroll into service by compulsion : draft
was conscripted into the army
Synonyms
Example Sentences
Noun
as the war continued, the body of enlisted soldiers was supplemented by an increasing number of conscripts
Verb
The government is conscripting men for the army.
He was conscripted into the army.
Recent Examples on the Web
Julian E. Barnes, BostonGlobe.com, 25 June 2023
Military officials tell me Russia is willing to take heavier losses than Ukraine, especially since the Russian Wagner Group has been sending in human waves of conscripts.
—Richard Engel, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2023
Despite only having six episodes, the first season deeply resonated with former conscripts and even prompted South Korea’s Ministry of Defense to issue a statement that incidents of violence and abuse in the military were on the decline.
—Time, 14 June 2023
About one-fourth of cases concern the abuse of conscripts, in countries including Eritrea, Egypt, Mali and Mongolia.
—Miriam Berger, Anchorage Daily News, 26 May 2023
Twice a year, including starting in April, the Russian military conscripts young men for one year of training and service.
—Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
The money saved will be spent on equipment for Russian conscripts and volunteers fighting in the conflict, City Hall said on its website.
—Bloomberg.com, 7 Oct. 2022
The Washington Post was unable to independently verify the videos, some of which were sent to local Russian media outlets by conscripts or their families.
—Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2023
Now, with his troops reinforced by conscripts and convicts and poised to launch new offensives, the 70-year-old Russian leader needs a win to maintain his own credibility.
—Robyn Dixon and Catherine Belton, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Feb. 2023
Time, 13 Dec. 2022
Women mourn the death of their family member and conscript soldier Gasanbek Agabekov, who was killed in Ukraine the 27th of May, in Aglobi, Dagestan, Russia, on June 16.
—Time, 23 Nov. 2022
Still, Russia’s proxy leaders there have had to forcibly conscript soldiers as casualties have risen.
—Marc Santora, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Sep. 2022
The Cold War-era law lets the federal government conscript private businesses to produce goods for national defense and to reorder supply chains, putting some customers ahead of others.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 19 May 2022
Morale is perhaps the largest issue, with conscript troops abandoning vehicles and vanishing into forests.
—Benjamin H. Friedman, The Week, 20 Mar. 2022
The gang is known to forcibly conscript migrants as mules—and sometimes dispose of them.
—Jason Motlagh, Outside Online, 19 July 2016
Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2023
But the various estimates indicate that about half of the roughly 500,000 troops deployed or conscripted in the past 15 months remain available.
—Mary Ilyushina, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023
Despite the misgivings of some officials, aggressive efforts are underway to conscript or recruit fighters.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
In private conversations, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has professed a willingness to dig in for the long haul, vowing to carry out more mobilizations if necessary and emphasizing that Russia is capable of conscripting as many as 25 million fighting-age men, a senior European official said.
—Paul Sonne, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023
McCarthy essentially wakes up every morning conscripted into a race to the bottom by those in his party with the worst political instincts and ideas.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 28 Apr. 2023
In 2001, when the planes hit the World Trade Center, he was conscripted, owing to his language skills, into delivering the live on-air report.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023
After finishing vocational school in 2021 in Novoshakhtinsk, a small mining city on the Ukrainian border, Nikolai Kartashev was conscripted and dispatched for his mandatory year of military service to the base in Pskov, his half-brother, Dmitry, said by phone.
—Evan Gershkovich, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2023
At a time of increasing doubts about the long-term viability of our retirement system, the last thing that anyone should be doing is conscripting people’s savings to advance a set of policies that owe far more to politics than to science.
—The Editors, National Review, 23 Mar. 2023
See More
Noun
Wagner’s contract fighters outpaced Ukrainian defenders by using savvy maneuvers on the ground and sending wave after wave of prisoner conscripts into the fight.
—Julian E. Barnes, BostonGlobe.com, 25 June 2023
Military officials tell me Russia is willing to take heavier losses than Ukraine, especially since the Russian Wagner Group has been sending in human waves of conscripts.
—Richard Engel, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2023
Despite only having six episodes, the first season deeply resonated with former conscripts and even prompted South Korea’s Ministry of Defense to issue a statement that incidents of violence and abuse in the military were on the decline.
—Time, 14 June 2023
About one-fourth of cases concern the abuse of conscripts, in countries including Eritrea, Egypt, Mali and Mongolia.
—Miriam Berger, Anchorage Daily News, 26 May 2023
Twice a year, including starting in April, the Russian military conscripts young men for one year of training and service.
—Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
The money saved will be spent on equipment for Russian conscripts and volunteers fighting in the conflict, City Hall said on its website.
—Bloomberg.com, 7 Oct. 2022
The Washington Post was unable to independently verify the videos, some of which were sent to local Russian media outlets by conscripts or their families.
—Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2023
Now, with his troops reinforced by conscripts and convicts and poised to launch new offensives, the 70-year-old Russian leader needs a win to maintain his own credibility.
—Robyn Dixon and Catherine Belton, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Feb. 2023
Adjective
Jin, who turned 30 earlier this month, entered the boot camp at Yeoncheon, a town near the tense border with North Korea, for five weeks of basic military training together with other new conscript soldiers, the Defense Ministry said.
—Time, 13 Dec. 2022
Women mourn the death of their family member and conscript soldier Gasanbek Agabekov, who was killed in Ukraine the 27th of May, in Aglobi, Dagestan, Russia, on June 16.
—Time, 23 Nov. 2022
Still, Russia’s proxy leaders there have had to forcibly conscript soldiers as casualties have risen.
—Marc Santora, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Sep. 2022
The Cold War-era law lets the federal government conscript private businesses to produce goods for national defense and to reorder supply chains, putting some customers ahead of others.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 19 May 2022
Morale is perhaps the largest issue, with conscript troops abandoning vehicles and vanishing into forests.
—Benjamin H. Friedman, The Week, 20 Mar. 2022
The gang is known to forcibly conscript migrants as mules—and sometimes dispose of them.
—Jason Motlagh, Outside Online, 19 July 2016
Verb
More than 13,000 have been conscripted to the army, territorial defense forces and National Guard of Ukraine.
—Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2023
But the various estimates indicate that about half of the roughly 500,000 troops deployed or conscripted in the past 15 months remain available.
—Mary Ilyushina, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023
Despite the misgivings of some officials, aggressive efforts are underway to conscript or recruit fighters.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
In private conversations, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has professed a willingness to dig in for the long haul, vowing to carry out more mobilizations if necessary and emphasizing that Russia is capable of conscripting as many as 25 million fighting-age men, a senior European official said.
—Paul Sonne, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023
McCarthy essentially wakes up every morning conscripted into a race to the bottom by those in his party with the worst political instincts and ideas.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 28 Apr. 2023
In 2001, when the planes hit the World Trade Center, he was conscripted, owing to his language skills, into delivering the live on-air report.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023
After finishing vocational school in 2021 in Novoshakhtinsk, a small mining city on the Ukrainian border, Nikolai Kartashev was conscripted and dispatched for his mandatory year of military service to the base in Pskov, his half-brother, Dmitry, said by phone.
—Evan Gershkovich, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2023
At a time of increasing doubts about the long-term viability of our retirement system, the last thing that anyone should be doing is conscripting people’s savings to advance a set of policies that owe far more to politics than to science.
—The Editors, National Review, 23 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'conscript.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
alteration of French conscrit, from Latin conscriptus, past participle of conscribere to enroll, enlist, from com- + scribere to write — more at scribe
Dictionary Entries Near conscript
Cite this Entry
“Conscript.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscript. Accessed 9 Jul. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
conscript
1 of 3 adjective
con·script
ˈkän-ˌskript
1
: enrolled into service by force
2
: made up of conscripted persons
conscript
2 of 3 verb
con·script
kən-ˈskript
: to enroll into service by force : draft
was conscripted into the army
conscription
noun
kən-ˈskrip-shən
conscript
3 of 3 noun
con·script
ˈkän-ˌskript
: a conscripted person (as a military recruit)
More from Merriam-Webster on conscript
Nglish: Translation of conscript for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of conscript for Arabic Speakers
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