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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

He’s also negotiating with the most powerful of Colombia’s mutating armed groups – from leftist guerrillas to smaller trafficking mafias – in an effort to get them to demobilize simultaneously.

From Seattle Times Sep. 18, 2023

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

Santa Clara County officials announced plans to demobilize their mass testing and vaccination sites by the end of the month.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 2, 2023

The reich could demobilize it at will, but allows itself to appear helpless through Bavaria's independence.

From Europe—Whither Bound? Being Letters of Travel from the Capitals of Europe in the Year 1921 by Graham, Stephen

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

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

Mancuso, 59, was one of the rural paramilitary bosses to most eagerly embrace reconciliation efforts when he and some 30,000 other right-wing fighters demobilized under the 2005 Justice and Peace law.

From Seattle Times Aug. 23, 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

“There are a lot of state resources in the field that have been decreasingly utilized that we are demobilizing over time.”

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 28, 2023

Defense Minister Diego Molano said in an interview that the military was making “every effort” to fight these new groups by redoubling its focus on taking out ringleaders, eradicating coca and demobilizing fighters.

From Seattle Times Apr. 20, 2022

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

It was yesterday, after the news came that Germany had sent Russia an ultimatum about instantly demobilizing, demanding an answer by eleven this morning.

From Christine by Cholmondeley, Alice

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