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Glite Dictionary
draft dodger

draft dodger

9 7.8
A person who avoids military service illegally
  • noun
  • /dræft ˈdɑdʒər/
  • US
translation icon : desertor
  • On a different note, Michael Dorris's fictional short story in Working Men, titled "Earnest Money," concerns a Vietnam-era draft dodger.
  • draft dodgers and deserters
  • draft dodgers escape into Canada
  • pot-smoking draft dodger

So I think it's hilarious that I come from a long line of draft dodgers.

Examples

  • The uproar over Ali's controversial status as a "draft dodger" led to the cancellation of fight plans in those American cities and more than seventy others.

    Academic text (2011)

  • What do you think he was, a draft dodger?

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Usually, they are calling him a draft dodger despite being 12 when the last draft was held.

    Blog text (21)

  • What about your fellow Vietnam War draft dodgers?

    The Trotsky (2010)

  • So how is this draft dodger going to call up the Maine National Guard for active duty?

    Blog text (15)

  • Better still, beginning in 1968, it welcomed draft dodgers.

    Academic text (2003)

  • I tried to change the subject from the disgrace of my being a draft dodger.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The war protesters, the draft dodgers, could go on with their lives after Jimmy Carter gave them amnesty.

    Blog text (27)

  • During the Vietnam War, many individuals became known as draft dodgers as they sought to avoid military service.

  • He was labeled a draft dodger after fleeing to Canada instead of joining the army.

Synonyms

draft evader
vsdraft dodger
  • US
1 8.8

A person who illegally avoids being sent to serve in the army

focuses only on illegal avoidance rather than formal refusal to serve

Antonyms

servicemember
3 3.4

A person who works in the army or navy and wears a uniform

enlistee
1 7.0

A person who recently joined the armed forces

Surface Forms

draft dodger singular
draft dodgers plural

Morphology

draft + dodger

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'draft' (compulsory military service) with 'dodger' (someone who avoids an obligation); a learner who knows both words can infer 'a person who avoids the draft.' This compound pattern (X + dodger/tax dodger) is regular in English and similar constructions exist in other languages, so a B1 learner would readily understand it.

Etymology

The term draft dodger comes from the idea of 'dodging' the draft, the official call to serve in the army. 'Dodge' means to move quickly to avoid something, so draft dodger means someone who avoids being drafted, often illegally.