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
-
He’s scolded by fox and hawk for being out in the rain, but Bear shares his berries with Marvin, who gets a ride home on the back of Deer.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The comments reflect an effort by Cruz to minimize internal GOP fractures at a moment when foreign policy, particularly Iran, has exposed real tensions between the party’s traditional hawks and a rising noninterventionist wing.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Ironically, once relieved from their purely militaristic duties, star forts revealed their aesthetic value.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
-
That tells you that his approach is a very militaristic one.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Israel, meanwhile, saw Nasser’s rising influence across the Arab world as a danger, and wanted an excuse to cut him down, and to target Palestinian fedayeen militants who were operating in Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, which were both controlled by Egypt at the time.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Israel’s war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon also is intensifying, while the disruption of the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf has upended the global economy.—
Melanie Lidman,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Never has the United States had a secretary of defense less capable, more egregiously belligerent, or less suited to provide civilian direction of a war than Pete Hegseth.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
-
If anything, the regime is more defiant, belligerent, and brazen, determined to prevail at any cost.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
25 Mar. 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
-
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bellicose and vengeful rhetoric describing the military’s war in Iran grew out of his experience in Iraq.—
Patricia Cohen Michael Crowley John Ismay David M. Halbfinger,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Within the first few weeks of his administration, President Joe Biden launched a reset with the Houthis and pressured the Saudis to end the war against the bellicose Houthi movement.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Militarist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/militarist. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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