military

[ mil-i-ter-ee ]

/ ˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr i /

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adjective

of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy: from civilian to military life.

of, for, or pertaining to war: military preparedness.

of or relating to soldiers.

befitting, characteristic of, or noting a soldier: a military bearing.

following the life of a soldier: a military career.

performed by soldiers: military duty.

noun, plural mil·i·tar·ies, mil·i·tar·y.

the military,

the military establishment of a nation; the armed forces.
military personnel, especially commissioned officers, taken collectively: the bar, the press, and the military.

OTHER WORDS FOR military

3 soldierly, soldierlike, martial.

See synonyms for military on Thesaurus.com

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True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Origin of military

1575–85; <Latin mīlitāri(s), equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles) soldier + -āris-ary

OTHER WORDS FROM military

mil·i·tar·i·ly

[mil-i-tair-uh-lee, mil-i-ter-uh-lee], /ˌmɪl ɪˈtɛər ə li, ˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr ə li/, adverbmil·i·tar·i·ness, nounan·ti·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivenon·mil·i·tar·y, adjective

pre·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivepro·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivepseu·do·mil·i·tar·i·ly, adverbpseu·do·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivequa·si-mil·i·tar·y, adjectivesu·per·mil·i·tar·y, adjective, nounun·mil·i·tar·i·ly, adverbun·mil·i·tar·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use military in a sentence

Breaking the will of ISIS, the military argues, is not a statistic.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The American military may have launched hundreds of airstrikes on Iraq and Syria.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The U.S. military has said it is too early to make any conclusions, other than the war is on course.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Where the U.S. once depended on its own forces to determine who was military material, this time the Iraqis will decide.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The Amazon biography for an author named Papa Faal mentions both Gambia and lists a military record that matches the FBI report.
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Vulgate translates: “Et obviabit illi quasi mater honorificata, et quasi mulier a virginitate suscipiet illum.”
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
He began his military career at the age of 11, and continued in the service nearly 60 years.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
One, a man of distinguished looks and military bearing, was a little in advance of the other two.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Two years later this promising recruit, having fallen foul of the military authorities, had to leave the service under a cloud.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
In the New Testament a few examples appear in which his utterances are given a quasi-judicial tone.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for military

military

/ (ˈmɪlɪtərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

of or relating to the armed forces (esp the army), warlike matters, etc

of, characteristic of, or about soldiers

noun plural -taries or -tary

the military the armed services (esp the army)

Derived forms of military

militarily, adverb

Word Origin for military

C16: via French from Latin mīlitāris, from mīles soldier

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

military

OTHER WORDS FOR military

Origin of military

OTHER WORDS FROM military

Words related to military

How to use military in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for military

Derived forms of military

Word Origin for military