militarization

American  

[mil-i-tuh-rahyz-ay-shuhn, -ruhz-ay-shuhn] / ˌmɪl ɪ təˌraɪzˈeɪ ʃən, -rəzˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of equipping with military personnel, weapons, or resources.

2. the act or process of making something serve a military function or of imbuing it with militarism.

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Explanation

The process of becoming ready for conflict or war is militarization. Sometimes militarization refers to making a civilian organization resemble the armed forces—with uniforms or weapons, for example. When a country prepares itself for war, that's militarization. And when military resources are sent somewhere—to the site of a natural disaster or a political demonstration, for example—that's also militarization. A more systemic kind of militarization happens when a city's police force acquires military-grade weapons and uniforms, or uses military tactics instead of traditional community policing methods. The Latin root of militarization is militaris, "of soldiers or war."

Example Sentences

“The accumulation of them is what’s problematic and clearly what’s led MSF to say when you look at them as a whole, we are having here a militarization of parts of this hospital,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

“We need to recognize that if you invest in communities, they will be healthy, they will be strong, and we won’t have a need for the militarization of police,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2024

And what we see now, and see the beginnings of in “Power,” is how that militarization has grown and evolved over the last 50 or 60 years.

From Salon • May 18, 2024

U.S. military officials have warned that both Russia and China are moving toward greater militarization of space, as all three superpowers work on ways to blind the others.

From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2024

The defense minister, General Magnus Malan, backed by P. W. Botha, introduced a policy known as “total on-slaught,” which was a militarization of the country to combat the liberation struggle.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela