militia

CEFRC1

/məˈlɪʃə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An army of ordinary people trained to fight when needed.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Synonym of militsia: the national police force of certain countries (e.g. Belarus).

Examples

  • He said he would call out the state militia if the rebels did not surrender.

  • The Mahdi Army is a private militia in Iraq.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. An army of trained civilians, which may be an official reserve army, called upon in time of need, the entire able-bodied population of a state which may also be called upon, or a private force not under government control.

More examples

In context

  • The militia was formed to defend citizens in an emergency.

  • He coasts down to a dead stop in the middle of the channel, makes a scan for militia men and wireheads, and finds none.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The untrained villagers formed a blank to defend their homes from the invaders.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Latin mīlitia (“army, military force/service”), from mīles (“soldier”). Doublet of militsia. The use of "militia" rather than "police" to refer to the police force (of Belarus and some other countries) originated in the USSR.