special forces

NOUN

specially trained military troops

Synonyms

WEAK

Green Berets commandos elite troops guerrilla troops paratroops rangers rapid deployment force shock troops storm troops

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It came at a critical moment,” said a soldier who goes by the call sign Konosh, from the Timur Special Forces Unit in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

Even though it was a covert Special Forces operation, Panetta said, he personally briefed key congressional leaders before Bin Laden’s killing took place.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026

Was it someone from Special Forces or the Navy or a Coast Guard vessel that happened to be nearby?

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2025

They are led by former Special Forces soldier turned tech entrepreneur Yinon Weiss, according to a former senior Pentagon official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

From Salon • Jun. 13, 2025

Documents showed that President Kennedy sent Special Forces troops to South Vietnam in the spring of 1961, putting Americans into combat in Vietnam for the first time.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin