martial

play

adjective mar·tial \ ˈmär-shəl \

Updated on: 8 Aug 2017

Definition of martial

1 :of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior

martial music

a martial tone of voice
—Tim Appelo

martial prowess

2 :relating to an army or to military life

martial discipline

stories of martial tradition
—Ewen Macaskill

3 :experienced in or inclined to war :warlike

its martial people fought the British to a standstill
—Mary Anne Weaver

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martially

play \-shə-lē\ adverb

See martial defined for English-language learners

See martial defined for kids

Examples of martial in a Sentence

the marching band played “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and several other martial airs
one of the basic tenets of martial law

Recent Examples of martial from the Web

The fascination for rapid, hard-hitting martial arts never left him.

— yoolim lee, Bloomberg.com, "Ultimate Fighting Championship Has an Asian Rival," 30 Aug. 2017
Fans of both boxing and mixed martial arts had to be happy, too.

— tim dahlberg, courant.com, "Mayweather, McGregor Counting Their Money," 27 Aug. 2017
The milieu from which Bruce Lee emerged to become the world’s first martial-arts superstar — both as a film performer and a proponent-teacher — was probably as fascinating as the man himself.

— glenn kenny, New York Times, "Review: In ‘Birth of the Dragon,’ Young Bruce Lee Meets a Master," 25 Aug. 2017
The UFC announced the potential violation Tuesday night for Jones, widely considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts.

— greg beacham, The Seattle Times, "UFC: Champ Jon Jones flagged for another failed doping test," 22 Aug. 2017
So did aspiring mixed martial arts fighter, Thomas Jasinski, 16, of Bradley.

— frank vaisvilas, Daily Southtown, "Grappling tourney brings bit of Brazil to Oak Lawn," 28 July 2017
The seven-page letter, a copy of which was seen by reporters Thursday, aims to convince lawmakers to extend Duterte’s 60-day declaration of martial law in the south until the end of the year.

— jim gomez, The Seattle Times, "Philippines: Leadership of Marawi attackers largely intact," 20 July 2017
Two 20-somethings escape from Los Angeles, which has been under martial law, to help lead a resistance against all this turmoil.

— george gene gustines, New York Times, "Comic Books That Put the Pow in Political Power," 18 July 2017
An amateur mixed martial arts fighter died late Saturday evening after competing in a fight at the Expo Five Event Center in Louisville.

— thomas novelly, The Courier-Journal, "Amateur MMA fighter dies in Louisville after losing match," 17 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'martial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

martial and Roman Mythology

Mars was the Roman god of war and one of the patron gods of Rome itself. He was responsible for everything military, from warriors to weapons to marching music. Thus, martial arts are skills of combat and self-defense also practiced as sport. When martial law is declared, a country's armed forces take over the functions of the police. And a court-martial is a military court or trial.