as in hawk
one who urges or attempts to cause a war
a government dominated by militarists
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as in militaristic
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Recent Examples of militarist
Jeff Kingston, Time, 30 Nov. 2025
David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
Noun
At the same time, the barrage of vitriol unleashed by China castigating Takaichi as a warmongering militarist includes a reprehensible threat by the Chinese consul-general in Osaka about beheading Takaichi.
—Jeff Kingston, Time, 30 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Right, in France, means pro-Catholic, pro-militarist.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for militarist
Noun
-
At least in the world of counterfactuals, there is an alternative reality in which a Democratic President, during the nineteen-nineties or the two-thousands, defied the deficit hawks and also adopted a more skeptical approach to globalization.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
-
By mid-February, raptors, including hawks and eagles, begin migrating north.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The rest of her outfit was a militaristic dress by Mugler in shades of tan, a nice break from Ortega's often black wardrobe without going in a colorful direction that wouldn't suit her or fit with her image.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The state and local officials meeting with Tom Homan, who was put in charge of the federal immigration operation in Minnesota this week, have generally agreed that their encounters have been cordial and productive, a welcome change from the militaristic approach taken by his predecessor.—
Toluse Olorunnipa,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The airstrikes came after a month of deadly attacks within Pakistan, the most recent being the killing of two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, by militants in the country’s northwest on Saturday, officials said.—
Sophia Saifi,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
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Habib Ullah, a local tribal elder, said those killed in the strikes were not militants.—
Munir Ahmed,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The voice might be drunk, or belligerent, or hostile, or afraid of the dark.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
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This undiplomatic tirade went over well in the White House, but marked him as a belligerent nativist abroad and something of an isolationist at home.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Ludwig’s distant paternal ancestors were in fact German Jewish merchants, not warlike princes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
-
To many Chicagoans, the warlike atmosphere is the result of the increasing aggression of the federal government.—
Geraldo Cadava,
New Yorker,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Like the pharaohs and emperors of antiquity, the president weaponizes the past to justify his present actions and future plans, omitting and embellishing events of yesteryear to fit a bellicose agenda.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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The Iranian foreign minister’s bellicose words should not be considered mere rhetoric, Vali Nasr, a professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, told us.—
Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Militarist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/militarist. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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