Meaning & use
commandant
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Meaning
nouncountablemilitary
The officer who is in charge of a particular military base, academy, prison camp or similar institution.
Grammar: Usually comes with a title or a place: the commandant of the academy.
Patterns
- the commandant of something
- commandant at something
The commandant inspected the cadets before the parade began.
She was appointed commandant of the naval college at the age of fifty.
Visitors to the fort must first report to the commandant's office.
Word forms
| plural | commandants |
|---|
Common combinations
- camp commandant
- The camp commandant ordered a full search of the barracks.
- appoint a commandant
- The army appointed a new commandant after the old one retired.
- commandant of the academy
- The commandant of the academy gave the opening speech.
- the commandant's office
- Please wait outside the commandant's office until you are called.
- deputy commandant
- The deputy commandant signed the leave forms in his absence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- commander
- Commander is the general word for anyone leading troops, whereas commandant names the head of one specific base or school.
- governor
- Governor is used for the head of a prison or fortress in some countries, but it does not sound as strictly military as commandant.
- superintendent
- Superintendent suggests a civilian or administrative head of an institution, while commandant suggests an officer with military authority.
- warden
- Warden fits a prison or protected area and carries no military rank, unlike commandant.
Word family
- command verb
- to give orders and be in charge of a group
- command noun
- authority over a force or unit
- commander noun
- a person who leads a military unit
- commandeer verb
- to take something by force for official use
- commandment noun
- a rule given with authority
Commonly confused: commandant or commandeer?
commandant vs commandeer
Commandeer is a verb meaning to seize property for military or official use. A commandant is a person, an officer in charge of a base.
Practice
The ___ of the military academy welcomed the new cadets on their first morning.
Choose one answer.
A commandant is the officer in charge of an academy. Commandeer is a verb, a commandment is a rule, and a commendation is praise.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commandant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.