Militariat
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A ruling class resulting from a coup by junior officers and non-officers from the military.
"It is noted that some military coups, especially in West Africa, have been carried out, not by senior officers, but by junior & noncommissioned officers, ie, the militariat, which occupies a class position in the army analogous to the working class in society."
- 2 A ruling class formed by an alliance between military officers and bureaucrats.
"The employers and the landlords were upheld in their exploitation of the masses by militariats, who, as masters of their politically and militarily separate territories, moreover, taxed the people outrageously and allowed their soldiers to live upon them and ravage them practically at will."
Example
More examples"It is noted that some military coups, especially in West Africa, have been carried out, not by senior officers, but by junior & noncommissioned officers, ie, the militariat, which occupies a class position in the army analogous to the working class in society."
Etymology
Blend of military + proletariat.
Related phrases
More for "militariat"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.