Warlike

//ˈwɔɹlaɪk// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Hostile and belligerent.

    "“I see a somewhat warlike atmosphere. Silence can say many things,” a driver from eastern Caracas told CNN, asking not to be identified for security reasons."

  2. 2
    Martial, bellicose or militaristic.

    "Doubt not my Lord and gratious Soueraigne, But Tamburlaine, and that Tartarian rout, Shall either periſh by our warlike hands, Or plead for mercie at your highneſſe feet."

Adjective
  1. 1
    suggesting war or military life wordnet
  2. 2
    disposed to warfare or hard-line policies wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
bellicosehawkishmilitaryaggressiveantagonisticbattling

Example

More examples

"Before their honeymoon was over, they were forced to part, for the king had to go on a warlike expedition to a far country, and leave his young wife alone at home."

Etymology

From war + -like. Compare the older warly.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.