militarism

noun mil·i·ta·rism \ ˈmi-lə-tə-ˌri-zəm \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

1 a : predominance of the military class or its ideals

b : exaltation of military virtues and ideals

2 : a policy of aggressive military preparedness

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militarist

play \-rist\ noun or adjective

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militaristic

play \ˌmi-lə-tə-ˈris-tik\ adjective

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militaristically

play \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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Examples of militarism in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of militarism from the Web

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
Trump’s interest in having a large-scale military parade now is likely to receive a mixed reception, especially among those who are concerned about nationalism, militarism or the president’s past praise for authoritarian leaders.

— dan lamothe, Washington Post, "The military parade that Trump envisions was more common in another era," 6 Feb. 2018
Nevertheless, Bannon recognized that Kuttner, like other progressives, shared his antipathy to free trade and militarism.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "Steve Bannon’s Plan To Make America Great Again—With or Without Trump," 28 Dec. 2017
King’s efforts to achieve economic justice and his fight against the war in Vietnam and against militarism in general turned against him some people who had supported his calls for civil rights.

— jerry large, The Seattle Times, "Martin Luther King Jr. predicted backlash against economic and racial progress," 14 Jan. 2018
Not standing idly by in the White House while Iranians protested a fixed election in 2009, then advocating a nuclear agreement that bankrolled the theocratic regime’s expansionism and militarism and corruption.

— matthew continetti, National Review, "Samantha Power Regrets," 20 Jan. 2018
King was a staunch anti-war activist and spoke firmly against U.S. militarism in the Vietnam War.

— jenn m. jackson, Teen Vogue, "Martin Luther King Jr. Was More Radical Than We Remember," 15 Jan. 2018
No clear event, no Reichstag fire, marked the moment when the country lurched into militarism.

— The Economist, "Why modern Japan’s founding moment still divides a nation," 11 Jan. 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.