militate

American  

[mil-i-teyt] / ˈmɪl ɪˌteɪt /

verb (used without object)

militated, militating

1. to have a substantial effect; weigh heavily.

   His prison record militated against him.

2. Obsolete.

   1. to be a soldier.

   2. to fight for a belief.

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militate British  

/ ˈmɪlɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. (intr; usually foll by against or for) (of facts, actions, etc) to have influence or effect

   the evidence militated against his release

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Commonly Confused

See mitigate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• militation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of militate

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin mīlitātus (past participle of mīlitāre “to serve as a soldier”), equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles ) “soldier” + -ātus verb suffix; see -ate ¹

Explanation

Your father's loss of his job may militate against the big family vacation your parents had been planning. To militate is to be a deciding factor for or against. The word militate descends from the same Latin word as military. Imagine armed soldiers at a check point. Their presence might militate against your plan of crossing the border, or it might militate for their bringing you in for questioning. When you are young, sometimes your age works for you, and sometimes it militates against you.

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