human shield

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: human child, human shields

Antonyms: human child, human shields

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

1. {{lb|en|military}} [[civilian|Civilians]] which a [[military]] group has [[deliberately]] placed combat targets near to [[deter]] an enemy from attacking those targets.
2. {{lb|en|figurative|rhetoric}} Third parties used cynically to divert attention away from accusations against oneself.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.