military
Americanadjective
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of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy.
from civilian to military life.
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of, for, or pertaining to war.
military preparedness.
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of or relating to soldiers.
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befitting, characteristic of, or noting a soldier.
a military bearing.
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following the life of a soldier.
a military career.
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performed by soldiers.
military duty.
noun
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militaries,
plural
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military
plural
adjective
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of or relating to the armed forces (esp the army), warlike matters, etc
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of, characteristic of, or about soldiers
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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militarinessnoun
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antimilitaryadjective
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nonmilitaryadjective
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premilitaryadjective
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promilitaryadjective
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pseudomilitaryadjective
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quasi-militaryadjective
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supermilitaryadjective
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unmilitaryadjective
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militarilyadverb
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pseudomilitarilyadverb
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unmilitarilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of military
1575–85; < Latin mīlitāri ( s ), equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles ) soldier + -āris -ary
Explanation
Ten, hut! So you'd like the definition of military? Yes, Sir! The adjective military is used to describe anything related to the armed forces or soldiers. Stemming from the Latin word for "soldier," military is a word that goes hand in hand with war. It's the military that protects a country's interests, lead by generals and powered by brave soldiers. When used as an adjective, military describes anything that's related to, well, the military: salutes, campaigns, uniforms, etc.
Vocabulary lists containing military
Veterans Day Vocabulary
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Fighting Words: Belli and Milit
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Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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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 U.S. military has taken steps to conserve its interceptor stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Iceland may be a founder member of Nato but it has no military and relies on its allies for defence.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Serbia's justice minister Nenad Vujic said Mladic "will receive all the military and state honours to which he is entitled", but Vucic did not confirm whether plans were underway for a state funeral.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Iran has spent years setting up a complex system of oil sales and clandestine shadow banking that it hopes will sustain its economy and military.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Arthur Scherbius, the inventor. Run over by a carriage in 1929. Didn’t live to see the German military buy his machine by the thousands.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
The United States and several other countries frequently condemn what they say is state-backed Chinese hacking activity of governments, militaries and businesses.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Prince said Friday he has formed Vectus Air Defense Systems to provide companies, militaries and governments with the design and operation of customized air-defense systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Nevertheless, the era of drone boats appears to have arrived for militaries around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The companies have "long-standing ties to western governments and militaries", the paper explains.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Australia and Fiji said other Pacific countries with militaries can join the alliance.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
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.
