military

comparative more military · superlative most military · alternative archaic pronunciation spelling milertary

1. not comparableusuallyCharacteristic of members of the armed forces.

   She was dishonorably discharged from all military duties.

   3 more examples

   "My dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness which characterises you. You shave every morning, and in this season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back on the left side, until it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits looking at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a result."

   1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Boscombe Valley Mystery”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmesᵂⁱᵏⁱˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ

   At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.

   1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

   Poirot was an extraordinary looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet, four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible.

   1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 21

2. CanadaUSnot comparableusuallyRelating to armed forces such as the army, marines, navy and air force (often as distinguished from civilians or police forces).

   If you join a military force, you may end up killing people.

3. not comparableusuallyRelating to war.

   The only goal pursued by Western defense strategy — to cause the Warsaw Pact to break off an attack — is more military than political in nature.

   1989, Gregory Flynn, Soviet Military Doctrine and Western Policy, page 158

4. not comparableusuallyRelating to armies or ground forces.

plural militaries · alternative archaic pronunciation spelling milertary

1. Armed forces.

   He spent six years in the military.

   3 more examples

   attempts by the military to influence government policy

   The dispatches […] also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies. Having lectured the Arab world about democracy for years, its collusion in suppressing freedom was undeniable as protesters were met by weaponry and tear gas made in the west, employed by a military trained by westerners.

   2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, archived from the original on 18 Sep 2019, page 18

   For the U.S. and its allies, finding new ways to navigate is crucial. In the Ukraine war, Russia is jamming and spoofing—blocking and faking signals [respectively]—so frequently that satellite navigation isn’t dependable. Other potential adversaries, including China and North Korea, possess similar capabilities. GPS spoofing by militaries has become a civilian hazard as well, presenting a risk to commercial aircraft. “This problem hasn’t been as urgent until right now, when we are seeing the end of reliable GPS,” said Russell Anderson, a principal scientist at Q-CTRL, the Australian startup that ran the test flight. “It is the arms race of the current day, in terms of navigation.”

   2025 November 19, Mike Cherney, “The Pentagon Can’t Trust GPS Anymore. Is Quantum Physics the Answer? New devices navigate without satellites or risk of enemy jamming signals”, in The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 20 Nov 2025

   Synonyms: force, forces