Definition of warlike
1 obsolete : ready for war : equipped to fight
2 : fit for, disposed to, or fond of war : bellicose a warlike people
3 : of, relating to, or useful in war warlike preparations
4 : befitting or characteristic of war or a soldier warlike cries
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Examples of warlike in a Sentence
The government has been criticized for its warlike attitude.
a seafarer's legend that the remote island was inhabited by a warlike and uncivilized tribe
Recent Examples of warlike from the Web
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Since President Salvador Sánchez Cerén took office in 2014, the Salvadoran government has been on a warlike footing against MS-13 and the 18th Street gang.
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There is often the suspicion that warlike foreign policies are used as a distraction from problematic domestic politics.
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Gavelis and his colleagues recently published a paper describing the especially warlike adaptations of two particular genera of dinoflagellates, Polykrikos and Nematodinium.
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Such unity, loving and warlike, is the only defense against an Administration whose treatment of the vulnerable seems, like its whole agenda, to combine pernicious intentions with minimal planning.
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North Korea condemns all such drills as a rehearsal for an invasion and has often responded with warlike words, or missile tests.
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For example, a militaristic species is manipulated in a series of wars, such that the least warlike (the ones who do not go out and fight) are the only ones who end up reproducing, because everyone else dies in battle.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'warlike.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of warlike
15th century
WARLIKE Defined for English Language Learners
warlike
playDefinition of warlike for English Language Learners
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: liking or tending to fight in wars or to start wars
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: showing or suggesting that a country, group, etc., is ready or eager to fight a war
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: of, relating to, or useful in war
WARLIKE Defined for Kids
warlike
playDefinition of warlike for Students
1 : fond of war warlike people
2 : fit for or characteristic of war warlike aggression
Learn More about warlike
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See words that rhyme with warlike Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for warlike Spanish Central: Translation of warlike Nglish: Translation of warlike for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of warlike for Arabic speakers
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