garrison state

noun

: a state organized to serve primarily its own need for military security
also : a state maintained by military power

Examples of garrison state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
To compensate, the United States might have to become a garrison state, with its wealth and civil liberties eroded by breakneck militarization. Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023 With minor variations, these policies have been a matter of bipartisan consensus since the George W. Bush administration embarked on the path of turning the country into a garrison state after 9/11. Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, 13 Apr. 2021 This elaborate garrison state was put in place to allow the federal government to function after a nuclear attack. Ed Burmila, The New Republic, 13 June 2019 With no domestic pressure on the generals to reform, Pakistan will remain what the Singaporean scholar Tan Tai Yong calls a garrison state dominated by the army. Sadanand Dhume, WSJ, 30 July 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of garrison state was in 1937

Dictionary Entries Near garrison state

Cite this Entry

“Garrison state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garrison%20state. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!