as in to disarm
to reduce the size and strength of the armed forces of the two nations agreed to demilitarize themselves reciprocally in hopes of avoiding war

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of demilitarize The American ceasefire plan being negotiated this week could allow Israel's military to remain inside the Gaza Strip, and Israel has been calling for Hamas to be entirely demilitarized. Emily Feng, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025 The Israeli government declared war on Hamas in the immediate aftermath of the attack with leaders expressing the goal to completely demilitarize Hamas and to remove them from power in Gaza. Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 6 Oct. 2025 Europe is remilitarizing after decades of demilitarizing. John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025 Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated his government's longstanding demands that Ukraine be demilitarized and stop trying to be allied with the West. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 21 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for demilitarize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demilitarize
Verb
  • A lot of people, even those who will not vote for Sliwa, do seem to find his campaign charming and disarming.
    Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • His infectious personality and good looks have won over a few of the ladies and disarmed many of the men.
    Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • On Tuesday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek directed U.S. Northern Command to demobilize Oregon’s 200 National Guard troops and return another 200 California National Guard members to their state.
    Daniella Silva, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025
  • The order will remain in place until October 18. Kotek has now asked the U.S. Northern Command, in a letter on Tuesday, to demobilize the Oregon National Guard members who are staging in her state.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Demilitarize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demilitarize. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

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