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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.

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

"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

Other Word Forms

  • antimilitarism noun
  • promilitarism adjective

Etymology

Origin of militarism

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.