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soldierly

soldierly

1 6.3
Having strong discipline, bravery, and a calm military manner
  • adjective
  • /ˈsoʊldʒərli/
translation icon : militar
  • 50 Peacekeeping and peace enforcement may thus also incorporate "classic" soldierly attributes such as courage, tenacity, ability to withstand physical and emotional pressure, and loyalty to team members.
  • soldierly virtue
  • soldierly duty
  • soldierly way of life

Examples

  • The soldierly skills of patrolling, establishing observation posts, and mounting shows of force are well developed, but are not enough.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Rather than rambling, it stood in straight, soldierly angles, its gray stone dignified, its gables and turrets distinguished.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Service experience and practical accomplishments are required to build soldierly leadership.

    Academic text (1990)
  • And Vladimir Lensky is the least soldierly man in all of Russia.

  • You might also end by appealing to the men's sense of duty, than which no soldierly virtue is of greater importance.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Why don't you take an example from Kranz, a fine soldierly fellow?

  • He walked unsteadily across France and into Germany, mostly drunk, but doing his soldierly duty all the way.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • With soldierly precision that impressed the onlookers, Lyon's regiments surrounded Camp Jackson on all sides.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Marechal Field, fifty years old and an erect, soldierly figure of a man, with ice-blue eyes, large white mustachios, and a shiny bald head, wasted no time at all in showing me the ransom note.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • His soldierly demeanor was evident in the way he stood tall and spoke with confidence.

Synonyms

martial
vssoldierly
  • Formal
188 6.5

Relating to war or showing soldier-like courage and discipline

focuses on personal discipline bravery and military bearing rather than general warfare
soldierlike
vssoldierly
6.8

Being disciplined, brave, and standing straight

is identical in meaning but differs in word form or suffix

Antonyms

18 4.6

Unable to control yourself or follow rules

1 6.7

Not like soldiers or army life

How Soldierly

militaristic
8 7.4
martial
  • Formal
188 6.5
soldierly
1 6.3
disciplined
10 4.2

Surface Forms

soldierly positive

Morphology

soldierly = soldier (transparent) = soldier + ly

Formed by the productive adjective-forming suffix '-ly' from the noun 'soldier', yielding the predictable meaning 'having qualities of a soldier'.

Etymology

The word soldierly comes from soldier + -ly, so it literally means 'like a soldier'. The word soldier comes from an old French word for someone 'paid to fight', so soldierly suggests the discipline, bravery, and the steady, trained way soldiers stand and act.