military

military — adjective

1. connected to a country's army, navy, and air force — the organized groups that f

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

connected to a country's army, navy, and air force — the organized groups that fight wars and defend the nation.

Example

Ravindra completed his military service last year and now works at a hospital.

collocation: military service

The government sent military aircraft to deliver food after the flood.

collocation: military aircraft

Common collocations
  • military service
  • military base
  • military action
  • military aircraft
  • military force
  • military police
  • military operation
  • military training
  • military parade
  • military uniform
Synonyms
  • armed forces

    used as a noun phrase rather than an adjective; describes the same groups

  • defence

    broader term; 'defence policy' may include non-military security measures

  • service

    common in official titles like 'service member', but less specific

Antonyms
  • civilian

    belonging to ordinary people, not the armed forces

  • civil

    used in phrases like 'civil government' to contrast with military rule

Grammar Patterns

military + noun

Usage Note

Always appears before the noun it describes. Do not use with very: ❌ 'a very military base'.

Common Mistakes

He joined the military army.
He joined the military.' or 'He joined the army.
'military' as an adjective already covers army, navy, and air force; adding 'army' is redundant.
The military attack was very powerful.
The military attack was powerful.
'military' as an adjective is never graded with 'very'.

2. showing the strict order, plain neatness, and strong discipline that people expe

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

showing the strict order, plain neatness, and strong discipline that people expect from soldiers.

Example

The school has a military style of discipline that parents greatly admire.

pattern: military + style / precision / discipline

Hannah keeps her desk with military precision, every pen in its proper place.

collocation: military precision

Common collocations
  • military precision
  • military discipline
  • military efficiency
  • military style
  • military bearing
  • military haircut
  • military order
Synonyms
  • disciplined

    focuses on self-control and obedience rather than the full military aesthetic

  • regimented

    more negative; suggests rigid, oppressive order

  • strict

    broader; does not carry the neat-appearance meaning

Antonyms
  • messy

    lacking neatness or order

  • disorganized

    without clear structure or discipline

  • relaxed

    informal and free, opposite of strict discipline

Grammar Patterns

military + noun

Usage Note

Describes things that are NOT part of the armed forces but have qualities associated with them. Common with nouns like precision, discipline, efficiency, style, order.

Common Mistakes

The garden had a military order which was nice.
The garden was arranged with military precision.
'military order' can be misread as an order given by a commander; 'military precision' is the standard phrase.

military — noun

Word family

  • militarize
    verbC1
  • militarized
    adjectiveC1
  • militarization
    nounC1
  • militarism
    nounC1
  • militaristic
    adjectiveC1
  • militia
    nounB2
  • paramilitary
    adjectiveC1
  • demilitarize
    verbC1
  • demilitarization
    nounC1
  • militant
    adjectiveB2
  • militancy
    nounC1
  • non-military
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While military refers to a country's entire organized fighting capability (army + navy + air force + marines), army specifically means ground forces only. Armed forces is the most formal and complete term and appears in official names ('the US Armed Forces'). Troops is used in plural and usually refers to individual soldiers on the ground, not the institution as a whole; 'ten thousand troops' means ten thousand soldiers, not ten thousand armies. Forces by itself can be ambiguous — it may mean military forces or police forces depending on context. The services (British) or the service branches (American) distinguishes the army, navy, and air force as separate organizations that together make up the military. Example: 'She joined the military' (general) vs. 'She joined the army' (a specific branch). 'The armed forces celebrated their anniversary' (formal, whole institution) vs. 'Troops were sent to the border' (individual soldiers).

armed forcesarmy ↗troopsforcesthe services

Common collocations

Nouns

  • military service
  • military base
  • military action
  • military intervention
  • military operation
  • military force
  • military personnel
  • military training
  • military equipment
  • military intelligence
  • military spending
  • military strategy

Adverbs

  • heavily militarized
  • strictly military
  • purely military

Phrases

  • military-industrial complex
  • court-martial (military court)
  • military coup
  • compulsory military service
  • military dictatorship

Prepositions

  • in the military
  • serve in the military
  • join the military
  • leave the military
  • by military force
  • under military rule

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word military entered English in the mid-1500s from French 'militaire', which came from Latin 'militaris' meaning 'of soldiers' or 'of war'. The Latin root 'miles' means 'soldier'. The same Latin root gives us 'militia' (a group of trained citizens), 'militant' (aggressively active), and 'militarism' (belief in a strong military).