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 King's private secretary had spoken on the phone to Uganda's military chief, reassuring him that he approved of Uganda's participation in the games.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
That could mean controlling political power, military power, natural resources or social media to influence populations—to name a few applications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The U.S. military has provided some protection to tankers moving through the strait hugging Oman’s coast, and ship-to-ship transfers have been a growing way to get crude flowing out of the Middle East again.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
The US military presence will remain a major issue for Koja, a former civil servant who was also a deputy mayor of Naha, the region's capital city.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
With so many military bases there, there were lots of jobs in the area.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
The announcement is also the latest tie-up between Germany's ailing auto industry and the defence sector, which is booming as countries build up their militaries to face an increasingly dangerous world.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
“This is the kind of situation in which great-power militaries like the United States struggle,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Against a backdrop of rising tensions in the Pacific, militaries from around the globe are coming together in Hawaii for the world’s largest naval exercise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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
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.
