martial

martial, warlike, military carry as their basic meaning belonging to, suitable to, or characteristic of war.

Martial distinctively implies reference to war in general and to its essential and fundamental characteristics; it often specifically suggests the pomp and circumstance of war

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standing in martial array

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the army set out to the martial strains of a fife and drum corps— Amer. Guide Series: Calif.

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Warlike, as a rule, implies reference to war as a reality, its actual causes, its actual methods, its actual effects; it therefore applies more often to feelings, acts, or activities that lead to or accompany real war than to those which suggest its thrilling or stirring qualities; thus, a warlike temper suggests bellicosity or readiness to fight to the bitter end, whereas a martial temperament suggests qualities (as dauntlessness, spiritedness, and eagerness) that bespeak one likely to behave well and valiantly in war

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a warlike race

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tales of warlike feats— Wordsworth

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everything that might be of value to a warlike power—the muskets, the cutlasses—was thrown overboard— Forester

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the Huns, whose warlike fury had swept the earth like a living flame— Stoker

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Military is the broadest of these terms since it may imply reference to war, to arms, or to armed forces or might

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a military expedition

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the military needs of the nation

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a distinguished military career

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of military bearing, six feet in height, erect and compact, with black hair and commanding appearance— Cole grove

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Sometimes military in reference to armed forces is specifically opposed to civil or civilian

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a military governor

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it is beyond the scope of any military representative to effect a solution by political means— Cilley

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Spencer also could see only two main types of states, the military, fashioned primarily for war and extremely authoritarian, and the industrial state, set up chiefly for productive industry and implying democratic politics, extensive civil liberties and extreme limitation of state activities— H. E. Barnes

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or it may be restricted to land, or land and air, forces and is then opposed to naval

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among military and naval attachés, military rank takes precedence of "courtesy to the stranger"— Squire

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Analogous words: *belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious, combative: *aggressive, militant: *spirited, high-spirited, mettlesome