English edit

Etymology edit

From war +‎ -like. Compare the older warly.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

warlike (comparative more warlike, superlative most warlike)

  1. Hostile and belligerent.
  2. Martial, bellicose or militaristic.
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. [] The First Part [], 2nd edition, part 1, London: [] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, [], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene i:
      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.
    • 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.

Antonyms edit

Translations edit