militate

[mil-i-teyt]

verb (used without object)

militated, militating 

1. to have a substantial effect; weigh heavily.

   His prison record militated against him.

2. Obsolete.

   1. to be a soldier.

   2. to fight for a belief.

militate

/ ˈmɪlɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. (intr; usually foll by against or for) (of facts, actions, etc) to have influence or effect

   the evidence militated against his release

Confusables Note

See mitigate.

Other Word Forms

• militation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of militate¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin mīlitātus (past participle of mīlitāre “to serve as a soldier”), equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles ) “soldier” + -ātus verb suffix; -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of militate¹

C17: from Latin mīlitātus, from mīlitāre to be a soldier

Example Sentences

But the sheer horizontal and vertical reach of the progressive mindset in newsrooms, the entrenched nature of their ideological skew, will militate against a successful resetting of their compass.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Though they recognized the antebellum nation as configured in such a way that militated against their social advancement, Hosea Easton, for example, claimed that Black people were “constitutionally Americans.”

Read more on Salon

He said it had been made because he had been "effective in exposing the complainant's weakness as a minister and exposing problems with her own record, which might militate against her being accorded a peerage".

Read more on BBC

The same issue will apply to Taiwan and other flashpoints: Even where strategic ambitions militate for war, the pain of every casualty will be dramatically compounded.

Read more on Seattle Times

"And it's ridiculous that he wants to call E. Jean a liar when the facts militate toward the truth, which is what she said happened."

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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