militarism

American  

[mil-i-tuh-riz-uhm] / ˈmɪl ɪ təˌrɪz əm /

noun

1. a strong military spirit or policy.

2. the principle or policy of maintaining a large military establishment.

3. the tendency to regard military efficiency as the supreme ideal of the state and to subordinate all other interests to those of the military.

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militarism British  

/ ˈmɪlɪtəˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. military spirit; pursuit of military ideals

2. domination by the military in the formulation of policies, ideals, etc, esp on a political level

3. a policy of maintaining a strong military organization in aggressive preparedness for war

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Other Word Forms

• antimilitarism noun
• promilitarism adjective

Etymology

Origin of militarism

1860–65; < French militarisme, equivalent to militar- (< Latin mīlitār ( is ) military ) + -isme -ism

Explanation

Places where armed government forces have a strong presence are usually under militarism. A system of militarism would probably buy weapons and outfit soldiers before anything else. Some countries govern through militarism to keep their territories under strong and often bullied rule and to let other countries know that they have guns and bombs and they're not afraid to use them — even on their own people. Militarism often is paired with other nouns like dictatorship showing the strict power of the leadership.

Example Sentences

And it plucks a nerve in a country still scarred by its history of militarism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

It is a rallying cry against the gangster militarism and ruthless authoritarianism that enable such horrors, a reminder that our fight for the future is inextricably bound to the lives of the youngest among us.

From Salon • Aug. 3, 2025

And how Russian composers, those who stayed and those who left, dealt with militarism, nationalism and the threat of repression has never felt more relevant.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2025

Some remain wary of anything that might be seen as militarism even now, and the armed forces have been chronically underfunded.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2025

Wildly exaggerated accounts of German atrocities inflamed public opinion and bolstered support for a war that was increasingly seen as a crusade against barbaric German militarism.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman