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.
-
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:
NATO’s top military role is held by the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, or Saceur, a position that has always been held by an American since it was first filled by Dwight Eisenhower in 1950.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
And there are growing ethical concerns about AI tools being much more widely adopted in military settings.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The full agreement has not been released, leaving unanswered questions about the size of an expanded U.S. military presence and how much authority Washington would have over foreign investments.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Don Atkinson has worked at the company for around 14 years, following 17 years in the military and a job maintaining backup power systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Holidays were frivolous and silly, whereas a migration sounded much more serious and responsible, befitting a puffin of the military class.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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
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
“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
The Ukraine war, where AI-powered drone technology is crucial, has helped drive the wave of innovation, while persuading militaries in Germany and elsewhere to look beyond traditional kit like tanks and artillery.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Like the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East, the narrow waterway is one of several chokepoints where the U.S. or other militaries could seek to block the energy trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 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.
