as in troops
the combined army, air force, and navy of a nation
our nation's armed forces are stationed throughout the world
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Recent Examples of armed forces
In both South Korea and the United States, for example, a civilian—the President—controls the military, which is meant to keep the armed forces in check.
—
E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
To put him atop the Pentagon hierarchy would send a terrible signal to the armed forces, especially women.
—Jackie Calmes, The Mercury News, 13 Dec. 2024
Putin will not dare to go to war with the mighty U.S. armed forces and their allies after some 78,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine—a figure that, according to some estimates, grows to between 400,000 and 600,000 when including Russian soldiers wounded in the fighting.
—Michael McFaul, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2024
But the armed forces remained a powerful institution, and in 1990 Alfonsín’s successor as president, Carlos Menem, gave indultos, or pardons, to all military personnel, springing Videla and Massera from jail.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for armed forces 
E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
To put him atop the Pentagon hierarchy would send a terrible signal to the armed forces, especially women.
—Jackie Calmes, The Mercury News, 13 Dec. 2024
Putin will not dare to go to war with the mighty U.S. armed forces and their allies after some 78,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine—a figure that, according to some estimates, grows to between 400,000 and 600,000 when including Russian soldiers wounded in the fighting.
—Michael McFaul, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2024
But the armed forces remained a powerful institution, and in 1990 Alfonsín’s successor as president, Carlos Menem, gave indultos, or pardons, to all military personnel, springing Videla and Massera from jail.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for armed forces
Thesaurus Entries Near armed forces
Cite this Entry
“Armed forces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/armed%20forces. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.
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