armed neutrality

American  

noun

1. military preparedness without commitment, especially as the expressed policy of a neutral nation in wartime; readiness to counter with force an invasion of rights by any belligerent power.

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Etymology

Origin of armed neutrality

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

armed neutrality

But they say it is critical to armed neutrality.

From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2023

Opinion polls had shown the plan would easily win approval in a country where armed neutrality is a tradition, but only 50.2% of voters approved the funding in September.

From Reuters ● Jun. 30, 2021

Knowing that trouble might result, Brazilians have had to send troopships of their own up the Amazon to preserve "armed neutrality."

From Time Magazine Archive

At Tabatinga, five miles below Leticia on Brazilian soil, several thousand Brazilian troops maintained "armed neutrality" last week.

From Time Magazine Archive

Not only had she, together with France, brought about the treaty of Teschen, but in 1780 she headed the league of armed neutrality, and between 1780 and 1784 annexed the Crimea.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various