gendarmes

noun

plural of gendarme
as in policemen
a member of a force charged with law enforcement at the local level the senator reiterated his conviction that it is not the role of the United States to be a kind of global gendarme

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gendarmes French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. — Elitsa Gadeva, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026 Almost 2,400 people were arrested, while nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, according to the Interior Ministry. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026 More than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters were injured, the AP reported, citing Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. — Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026 Leo presided alone over the liturgy and distributed Communion to medical personnel and Vatican gendarmes, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Leo presided alone over the liturgy, distributing Communion to medical personnel and Vatican gendarmes present. — Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 During the Paris Commune of 1871, a socialist tailor named Herminie Cadolle experimented with corset design in the hope of allowing women to move around more freely and, presumably, evade the gendarmes. — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 At the same time, there's enough nonsense, edging into ridiculousness, that the series might best be approached as a black action-comedy — at the end of the opening scene, the gendarmes are splattered with pieces of supermodel — or a very fancy B (maybe C) picture. — Robert Lloyd, Houston Chronicle, 21 Jan. 2026 Some 80,000 police and gendarmes were set to be deployed throughout the day, including riot units, drones and armored vehicles. — Reuters, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gendarmes
  1. policemen
  2. officers
  3. cops
  4. constables
Noun
  • Onlookers and policemen rushed to the balloon’s basket to find the three men lying crumpled on the ground.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
  • When plans were made for a visit to Japan by President Eisenhower in 1960—it was eventually called off—there weren’t enough policemen to guard his route into Tokyo, so the yakuza were mobilized to help.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of policemen
Noun
  • Rescue operations were complicated, with police firing tear gas at people who had begun looting neighboring shops, as officers sought to clear the area and provide access to emergency response teams.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The other person, who police believe to be a man, fled the scene before officers arrived, Gonzalez said.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of officers
Noun
  • She was found with fractures to her pelvis and femur, according to cops.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Also well drawn is the relationship between Caitlyn and her longtime fiancé John (Max Minghella), one of Gotham’s few uncorrupt cops who happens to be investigating the string of murders that follow in Matt’s wake.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of cops
Noun
  • The woman was able to flee the scene and located deputy constables.
    — Adam England, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
  • Troopers and Beacon Falls constables responded to the home and detained Drozdowski, state police said.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 6 May 2026
Definition of constables

Browse Nearby Words

gendarmerie
gendarmes
gender
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gendarmes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gendarmes. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All