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:
Cam Eddy founded Impause in February, around when military conflict started to ramp up in the Middle East, pushing up the price of oil.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Kim has focused on modernizing his military and increasing missile production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
An American woman alleged to have been an Islamic State group member caught by anti-IS forces in Syria went on trial in New York on Tuesday, charged with receiving military training from the jihadist group.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Russia's military has not publicly commented on the issue.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
To save money, the captain had arranged for them to stay in military housing.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
“Our two militaries should maintain regular dialogue, and improve mechanisms for crisis communication and prevention,” he continued, adding a historical reference to rising powers challenging established ones: “The Thucydides trap can be overcome.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Advanced militaries already deploy satellites in space for range of purposes, from supplying secure communications to reconnaissance, and providing precise location information for targeted strikes and detecting missile launches.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
That foresees a world of disrupted trade through tariffs and conflicts over chokepoints, more costly onshoring and less immigration, while political systems test the limits of spending to fund their militaries.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Prince recently formed Vectus Air Defense Systems alongside Swarmer to provide companies, militaries and governments with the design and operation of customized air-defense systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
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
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.
