militarism

noun

mil·i·ta·rism | \ˈmi-lə-tə-ˌri-zəm

Definition of militarism

1a : predominance of the military class or its ideals

b : exaltation of military virtues and ideals

2 : a policy of aggressive military preparedness

Other Words from militarism Example Sentences Learn More about militarism

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Other Words from militarism

militarist \-rist

\ noun or adjective

militaristic \ˌmi-lə-tə-ˈris-tik

\ adjective

militaristically \-ti-k(ə-)lē

\ adverb

Examples of militarism in a Sentence

The administration has been criticized for the militarism of its foreign policy.

Recent Examples on the Web

King was distressed at the shift in attention from human needs to militarism. — Livia Gershon, Longreads, "The Prosperity Plea," 30 May 2018 By December, King announced plans for the Poor People’s Campaign, which would launch the following spring by bringing caravans of people to Washington, D.C. to protest poverty, militarism, and materialism. — Livia Gershon, Longreads, "The Prosperity Plea," 30 May 2018 Though the focus of their group is to end U.S. wars and militarism, CODEPINK partners with coalitions on other issues, like advising Parkland students in their fight against the NRA and supporting activists resisting attempts to end DACA. — Aimeé Lutkin, Glamour, "Mother's Day Actually Has a Deep History of Activism," 12 May 2018 Football is ripe for satire, of course, with its undisguised militarism, its unfamiliarity with the language of irony, its Lombardi-esque moral elevation of stakes that are, in the end, imaginary. — Elif Batuman, The New Yorker, "A Public Defender’s Polyphonic Novel of Football and Social Justice," 30 Apr. 2018 But today, the logic of militarism too often goes unquestioned. — Izumi Nakamitsu, Time, "Global Military Spending Has Doubled but the World Is No Safer," 25 Apr. 2018 The forces of colonialism, militarism, and capitalism are challenges that impact all of us in the Pacific. — NBC News, "#RedefineAtoZ: Craig Santos Perez Has a Story to Tell Through Art, Poetry," 16 Apr. 2018 King had concluded that militarism, like poverty, was stalling the U.S. from living up to its ideals. — Russell Contreras, Fox News, "MLK tackled many issues in his lifetime. Where are we now?," 1 Apr. 2018 In Thailand, the government has responded to a long-running Malay Muslim insurgency in its southern provinces by fostering a Buddhist militarism, encouraging monks in local temples to ally with the armed forces. — Amar Diwakar, The New Republic, "Saffron Curtain: How Buddhism Was Weaponized During the Cold War," 23 Mar. 2018

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