militarily

M3I1L1I1T1A1R1I1L1Y4
UK/ˈmɪl.ɪ.t(ə.)ɹə.li/US/ˌmɪl.ɪˈtɛɹ.ə.li/

adverb

In a military or martial manner; not peaceably.

“The borders of the empire were expanded militarily over the course of many wars of conquest.”

Less commonScrabble 15

Meanings

adverbmilitarily (comparative more militarily, superlative most militarily)

comparative more militarily · superlative most militarily

  1. In a military or martial manner; not peaceably.
  2. By way of military or otherwise belligerent means.

    The borders of the empire were expanded militarily over the course of many wars of conquest.

    2 more examples

    At the very moment when their petty-bourgeois counterparts were coming to power elsewhere in Africa, these Mozambicans found the Portuguese turning their backs on neocolonialism and digging in their heels militarily against any such denouement to their rule.

    1985, John S. Saul, chapter I, in John S. Saul, editor, A Difficult Road: The Transition to Socialism in Mozambique, New York: Monthly Review Press, →ISBN, section 1, page 46

    2007 Ranjit Matthews, Re: Senator calls for Mecca and Medina to be nuked in retaliation Group: soc.culture.indian If it were, it would lose because you can't defeat a religion militarily. You can. Jahaliya was cleansed out of Arabia. More recently, Sufism was eliminated in the Hejaz. Kafirism was wiped out in Kafiristan (Nuristan).

  3. In a manner relating to the military or military matters.

    Whether [Israel's] blockade [of Gaza] is militarily justified is a point of contention.

    2025 October 2, The Associated Press, “Israeli navy intercepts most Gaza-bound flotilla boats and arrests activists”, in NPR

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Englishmilitary
  2. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  3. Proto-Germanic*līką
  4. Englishmilitarily

From military + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan militarment, militarment
  • militarmentin a military manner
  • militarmentby way of military
Finnish sotilaallisesti, sotilaallisesti
  • sotilaallisestiin a military manner
  • sotilaallisestiby way of military
German militärisch
  • militärischin a military manner
Greek στρατιωτικά
  • στρατιωτικά (stratiotiká)in a military manner
Polish wojskowo, militarnie
  • wojskowoin a military manner
  • militarniein a military manner
  • wojskowoby way of military
  • militarnieby way of military
Spanish militarmente
  • militarmentein a military manner
Cite this entry
APA

militarily. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/militarily

MLA

“militarily.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/militarily. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “militarily,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/militarily.

Source: militarily on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.