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Glite Dictionary
militarization

militarization

8 7.2
Making a country or area ready for war by adding soldiers and weapons
  • noun
  • /ˌmɪlɪtəraɪˈzeɪʃən/
: militarización
  • The country's militarization began after the conflict intensified and external threats grew.
  • Increased militarization
  • level of militarization
  • degree of militarization

Bradley Dalco has written about this rather compellingly funding the militarization of police around the country.

Examples

  • The general degree of militarization in Western European populations has thus sunk and is still sinking.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Many activists are protesting against the militarization of the police in urban areas.

  • A high level of militarization might reflect only a response to a transient or temporary threat.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The country has since actively taken part in the growing militarization of the Caspian region, say observers.

    Blog text (10)

  • Tendencies toward higher regional militarization can also be found in Asia and the Caucasus.

    Blog text (12)

  • Because of its strain on national resources, militarization has exacted a heavy toll on development and democratization in the region.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Americans bolstered the distinctions between themselves and Latin Americans through a militarization of the US-Mexico border.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Albert Langen, the editor of Simplicissimus, chose his title to reflect his concern over the increasing militarization of Wilhelmine Germany.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Moreover, militarization would undermine the gravity of the humanitarian catastrophe involved in a confrontation with the regime.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The militarization of police forces has raised concerns about civil liberties.

Synonyms

mobilization
vsmilitarization
26 6.7

Organizing people and supplies for action in a crisis

is specific to military conflict rather than general emergencies
arming
vsmilitarization
9 5.1

The act of giving weapons to soldiers to prepare for war

is wider involving organizing at country or regional level beyond just weapons
armament
vsmilitarization
1 7.0

Supplying a country or army with weapons and equipment to prepare for war

is broader adding organization and preparation for military operations

Antonyms

disarmament
  • Specialized
35 5.5

To reduce or remove weapons and armies between countries to lower the chance of war

demilitarization
  • Formal
2 6.8

Removal of soldiers and weapons from an area to make it peaceful

How Militarized

militarization
8 7.2
rearmament
1 8.0
to build up
  • Specialized
10 5.7
demilitarization
  • Formal
2 6.8

Surface Forms

militarization singular
militarizations plural

Morphology

militarization = militarize (transparent) = military + ize + ation

The noun is formed by adding '-ation' to the verb 'militarize', a standard nominalization denoting a process.

Etymology

Militarization comes from military, which originally meant 'soldier', and the ending -ization, meaning 'the act of making'. So militarization is the process of making a place or group like a military, equipping or getting it ready for war.