Definition of "militate" [mil•i•tate]

• To have force or influence; bring about an effect or a change: "All these factors militated to a different targeting priority” ( Tom Clancy). "The chaste banality of his prose . . . militates against the stories' becoming literature” ( Anthony Burgess). (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "She felt that she had spoken as impressively as it was necessary to do, and that in using the superior word "militate" she had thrown a noble drapery over a mass of particulars which were still evident enough."
• ""militate" against the rights of minorities, the LJP has urged the Centre to ensure that the legislation does not"
• "Mrs. Binks did not know what "militate" meant, unless it might be something in connection with the church militant, of which she had heard a great deal; but she was not a mild-tempered woman, and she grew very red in the face at this reproof. ""