as in defendant
law
someone who brings a legal action against another person or against whom a legal action is brought
Both litigants chose to represent themselves in court.
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Recent Examples of litigant
Barnes is one of many litigants attributing his non-Hodgkin lymphoma to Bayer/Monsanto’s failure to adequately warn him of the dangers of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.
—
John Klar, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2025
The Court’s Republican majority almost always rules in favor of Christian litigants who seek an exemption from a federal or state law, which is what Catholic Charities is looking for in this case.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 24 Mar. 2025
The purpose of that last phrase is to keep a litigant from filing something that states a legal action but attempting to call it something else, such as a Writ Of Mumbo Jumbo or something unusual.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Such an explicit carve-out in legal doctrine is striking but responds directly to claims made by litigants and political commentators of the dire economic consequences that could result were the president to have free rein over the Federal Reserve’s chairman.
—Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for litigant
John Klar, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2025
The Court’s Republican majority almost always rules in favor of Christian litigants who seek an exemption from a federal or state law, which is what Catholic Charities is looking for in this case.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 24 Mar. 2025
The purpose of that last phrase is to keep a litigant from filing something that states a legal action but attempting to call it something else, such as a Writ Of Mumbo Jumbo or something unusual.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Such an explicit carve-out in legal doctrine is striking but responds directly to claims made by litigants and political commentators of the dire economic consequences that could result were the president to have free rein over the Federal Reserve’s chairman.
—Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for litigant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for litigant
Noun
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The Keefe Commissary Network and its parent company Keefe Group were defendants alongside Tarrant County.—
Cody Copeland
July 14,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 July 2025
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According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Gadd is unable to speak about the case for legal reasons despite not being named as a defendant.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Buhari spent much of the following 30 years in fringe political parties and trying to run for president until his eventual victory over Jonathan in 2015.—
Benjamin Ezeamalu,
USA Today,
14 July 2025
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Even after stepping very far away from that role, Musk remains focused on a wide range of activities outside of Tesla, including starting a third political party and trying to fix problems at X, his social media platform.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Because the plaintiffs in the case against Meta didn’t do this, Chhabria ruled against them.—
Alex Reisner,
The Atlantic,
14 July 2025
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The plaintiffs include 20 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), two school districts and other unions.—
Cory Turner,
NPR,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Litigant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/litigant. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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