What does "martial" mean?
A soldier, a warrior.
Martial
/ˈmɑːʃəl/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A soldier, a warrior.
- Grammar: martial is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: warlike, aggressive, antagonistic, army.
- Useful contrasts: peaceable, careless, civil life.
- Usage evidence: For a guy who was chosen by his father as the only son to be taught the secrets of this martial art, he doesn't have that much of a kick.
How to use "martial"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "martial" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "martial" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "martial" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "martial" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "martial" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "warlike" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "martial", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A soldier, a warrior. obsolete
"The martials (this is the name of my pirates) will pass in her eyes for an honest family of fishermen; I will go on your account, and make two or three visits to your young lady; I will order her certain potions, and at the end of eight days she will make acquaintance with the cemetery of Asnieres."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of martial (“inhabitant of the planet Mars; Martian”). alt-of, obsolete
"The Martials, if there be Martials in any sense in which there are terrestrials on our own planet, may have no eyes at all; their whole civilisation, if they have say, may depend on senses of which we have absolutely no trace, […]"
- 3 A celestial object under the astrological influence of the planet Mars. obsolete
- 4 Synonym of Martian (“inhabitant of the planet Mars”). obsolete
"The Martials, if there be Martials in any sense in which there are terrestrials on our own planet, may have no eyes at all; their whole civilisation, if they have say, may depend on senses of which we have absolutely no trace, [...]"
Adjective
- 1 Of, relating to, or suggestive of war; warlike. comparable
"The captaine he, which climbes for high advaunce, / By piercing blade imbrude in enimies blood, / In martiall ſhewes who formoſt leades the daunce, [...]"
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of martial (“of or relating to the planet Mars”). alt-of, not-comparable, obsolete
"For, having found out by a careful series of observations, the parts of Mars' orbit where the planet entered upon its various seasons, he [William Herschel] noted that, soon after mid-winter of the northern hemisphere, the northern white spot attained its greatest dimensions, while the southern was reduced to a tiny oval of light; whereas half a Martial year later, the southern spot was at its largest, and the northern a mere speck when compared with its winter appearance."
- 3 Connected with or relating to armed forces or the profession of arms or military life. comparable
"[D]ivers commissions under your Majestie's Greate Seale have issued forth, by which certaine persons have been assigned and appointed commissioners, with power and authoritie to proceed within the land, according to the justice of martiall lawe, against such soulders and marriners, or other dissolute persons joining with them, as should commit any murder, robbery, felonie, meeting, or other outrage or misdemeanour, whatsoever; [...]"
- 4 Alternative letter-case form of Containing, or relating to, iron alt-of, not-comparable, obsolete
"The association of the heavenly bodies with known metals and also with human organs and destinies goes back to ancient Chaldea, the land of astrologers. In Chaucer’s words: ‘The seven bodies eek, lo hear anon. Sol gold is, and Luna silver we declare; Mars yron, Mercurie is quyksilver; Saturnian leed; and Jubitur is tyn, and Venus coper, by my fathers kyn.’ […] Corresponding names were bestowed upon salts of these metals by the alchemists, and some of them have persisted down to the present day. Some examples are lunar caustic (silver nitrate); vitriol of Venus (copper sulphate); sugar of Saturn (lead acetate); and vitriol of Mars, or Martial vitriol (ferrous sulphate)."
- 5 Characteristic of or befitting a warrior; having a military bearing; soldierly. comparable
"With Marſhall ſtalke he paſſed through our watch."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mars. not-comparable, obsolete
"The Sun to the Quartile or Oppoſition of Mars. This Direction threatens the native with ſome martial Diſeaſe or Infirmity, as Fevers peſtilential, exceſs of Choler and Blood corrupted; it ſheweth danger by Fires, Wounds and Scalds, ill ſucceſs in Affairs, danger by Thieves and Robbers, ill having to do with martial Men, or to deal in martial Affairs; [...]"
- 7 Of or relating to the planet Mars; Martian. not-comparable, obsolete
"[R]ound about the plain / All hid with slaughter'd carcasses, yet still did hotly reign / The martial planet; [...]"
- 8 Containing, or relating to, iron (which was symbolically associated with the planet Mars by alchemists); chalybeate, ferric, ferrous. not-comparable, obsolete
"martial preparations martial flowers (a reddish crystalline salt of iron)"
Adjective
- 1 of or relating to the armed forces wordnet
- 2 (of persons) befitting a warrior wordnet
- 3 suggesting war or military life wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A male given name from Latin, narrowly applied to certain historic persons (but some of its foreign cognates are modern given names).
"Saint Martial was the first bishop of Limoges, circa 250"
- 2 An Anglicized cognomen or given name of the Roman poet Marcus Valerius Martialis, born in Spain in the first century AD and noted for his epigrams.
Example
"For a guy who was chosen by his father as the only son to be taught the secrets of this martial art, he doesn't have that much of a kick."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "martial"?
Common synonyms include: warlike, aggressive, antagonistic, army, battle, battling.
How do you use "martial" in a sentence?
For a guy who was chosen by his father as the only son to be taught the secrets of this martial art, he doesn't have that much of a kick.
How do you pronounce "martial"?
Pronounced /ˈmɑːʃəl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English martial, marcial, mercial, mercialle (“relating to war, warlike; military; for use in fighting or warfare; brave, hardy; combative, fierce; ruthless, vicious; domineering, overbearing”), from Middle French martial (modern French martial (“martial”)), or directly from its etymon Latin mārtiālis (“of or pertaining to Mars, the Roman god of war”), from Mārtius (“of or pertaining to Mars”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). The English word is cognate with Italian marziale (“martial”), Portuguese marcial (“martial”), Spanish marcial (“martial”).
Etymology 2
From Latin Martialis (“Roman cognomen”), from martiālis (“belonging or dedicated to the Mars, the Roman god of war, or to war”), from Mārs (“the god Mars; the planet Mars”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns).