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Showing results for demobilize. Search instead for demobilising.
Synonyms

demobilize

American  
[dee-moh-buh-lahyz] / diˈmoʊ bəˌlaɪz /
especially British, demobilise

verb (used with object)

demobilizes, present (3rd person singular) demobilized, past participle, past demobilizing present participle
  1. to disband (troops, an army, etc.).

  2. to discharge (a person) from military service.


demobilize British  
/ diːˈməʊbɪˌlaɪz /

verb

  1. to disband, as troops, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of demobilize

First recorded in 1865–70; de- + mobilize

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.

See Examples For:

The oilfield-services company, formerly known as Schlumberger, had to demobilize operations in a number of countries in response to customer actions to safeguard personnel and facilities, Le Peuch said Friday.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 24, 2026

The Army Corps and its contractors initially aimed to demobilize by Jan. 8, 2026, the one-year anniversary of the fires, but federal cleanup efforts finished much earlier than expected.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 12, 2026

Petro has pushed for what he calls a “total peace” that would demobilize all of the country’s remaining rebel groups as well as its drug trafficking gangs.

From Washington Times Jun. 9, 2023

Party officials said they will not fully demobilize until Eritrea withdraws, as the Tigrayans are worried about ongoing attacks from their northern neighbor.

From New York Times Dec. 11, 2022

On the 31st, at seven o'clock in the evening, he dispatched to the Russian Government a summons to demobilize both on its Austrian and on its German frontiers.

From World's War Events, Vol. I by Reynolds, Francis J. (Francis Joseph)

It demobilizes, distracts, and depresses those who want to do better.

From Salon Jan. 19, 2025

Such sluggishness would scarcely reduce unemployment, which stands at 7.3% and could climb even higher as the Pentagon demobilizes the armed forces and slashes military contracts.

From Time Magazine Archive

Baker won plaudits for the Central American plan that demobilizes the contras.

From Time Magazine Archive

The U.S. mobilized to fight World War II, then rapidly demobilized after it ended.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 28, 2026

But 10 years after the accords and in the face of electoral doom, Ramirez and most demobilized fighters say they remain committed to peace.

From Barron's Mar. 5, 2026

In 2003, he joined a peace process under which paramilitary leaders demobilized in exchange for reduced sentences.

From Seattle Times Feb. 27, 2024

The JEP was established as part of a 2016 peace agreement between the state and the now demobilized FARC, which ended the rebel group's role in a conflict that has killed more than 450,000.

From Reuters Sep. 27, 2023

When the enlisted women were demobilized, they had to sign a pledge promising they’d do just that—not say anything about what they’d done.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Overprotected by parents in the physical world and underprotected in the virtual one, Generation Z has become ill-equipped to face and overcome crises while suffering from the demobilizing effects of depression and anxiety.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 7, 2026

On the other hand, “feelings of depression are demobilizing and take you out of the political system,” said Ojeda, author of “The Sad Citizen: How Politics is Depressing and Why it Matters.”

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 20, 2024

The 3.4% decline in 2020 was still the biggest annual decline for GDP since an 11.6% drop in 1946 when the country was demobilizing after World War II.

From Seattle Times Jul. 29, 2021

The bright side of all this is that far from demobilizing Muslims, it has coincided with a surge in Muslim civic engagement.

From Salon Jun. 28, 2018

The King in this crisis behaved well, and put Deliyanni in the alternative of demobilizing or resigning; and, when he chose the latter course, the King called Tricoupi to form a ministry.

From The Autobiography of a Journalist, Volume II by Stillman, William James

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