Loading collection...

Military & Politics

Military strategy, political science, and diplomacy

7 categories70 words

All 7 Categories

Military Tactics & Operations

Battlefield and operational vocabulary

Military Organization & Rank

Structure and hierarchy of armed forces

Military Metaphors in Business

Combat terms used in professional contexts

Diplomacy & International Relations

Vocabulary of statecraft and foreign affairs

Political Systems & Ideologies

Forms of government and political thought

Political Processes & Tactics

How politics operates in practice

Geopolitics & Strategy

Global power dynamics and strategic concepts

All 70 Words in Military & Politics

Complete vocabulary list for easy reference and copy-paste.

⚔️Military Tactics & Operations10

Term	Definition	Example
flank	to attack the side of an enemy position	"The cavalry flanked the enemy line."
attrition	wearing down an opponent through sustained losses	"The war of attrition exhausted both armies."
sortie	an attack by troops from a defensive position	"The garrison made a sortie at dawn."
pincer movement	a two-pronged attack converging on the enemy	"The pincer movement encircled the defenders."
reconnaissance	observation to gather military information	"Reconnaissance revealed enemy positions."
echelon	a level in a hierarchy or a staggered formation	"The upper echelons made the decision."
salient	a bulge in a battle line projecting into enemy territory	"The salient was vulnerable on three sides."
feint	a deceptive attack to distract from the main assault	"The feint drew defenders away from the breach."
enfilade	gunfire directed along the length of a target	"The machine gun enfiladed the trench."
blitzkrieg	a swift, overwhelming military attack	"The blitzkrieg conquered Poland in weeks."

🎖️Military Organization & Rank10

Term	Definition	Example
battalion	a military unit of 300-1000 soldiers	"The battalion advanced at dawn."
regiment	a military unit typically consisting of battalions	"The regiment had a distinguished history."
brigade	a military unit of several regiments or battalions	"The brigade commander ordered the assault."
division	a large military unit of 10,000-20,000 soldiers	"The armored division broke through."
corps	a military unit of two or more divisions	"The corps coordinated the offensive."
garrison	troops stationed in a fortress or town	"The garrison held out for months."
cadre	a core group forming the nucleus of a larger organization	"The cadre trained new recruits."
adjutant	a military officer assisting a commander	"The adjutant handled administrative duties."
attaché	a specialist on an ambassador's staff	"The military attaché reported on capabilities."
aide-de-camp	a personal assistant to a senior military officer	"The general's aide-de-camp managed his schedule."

💼Military Metaphors in Business10

Term	Definition	Example
boots on the ground	personnel actively present in a situation	"We need boots on the ground to assess the market."
in the trenches	doing difficult, hands-on work	"She's in the trenches with the team every day."
take no prisoners	to be ruthless and uncompromising	"The new CEO takes no prisoners."
rallying the troops	motivating a team or organization	"The manager spent the morning rallying the troops."
battle-tested	proven through difficult experience	"Our battle-tested processes handle any crisis."
hold the fort	to maintain a position while others are away	"Can you hold the fort while I'm at the conference?"
under fire	being attacked or criticized	"The CEO is under fire from shareholders."
outflank	to gain advantage by circumventing opposition	"We outflanked competitors with our pricing strategy."
scorched earth	destroying assets to prevent competitor advantage	"The departing executive pursued scorched earth tactics."
war room	a dedicated space for crisis management or planning	"The team gathered in the war room for the product launch."

🤝Diplomacy & International Relations10

Term	Definition	Example
détente	the easing of hostility between countries	"Nixon's visit to China marked a historic détente."
realpolitik	politics based on practical rather than ideological considerations	"His realpolitik approach prioritized national interest over values."
rapprochement	the establishment of cordial relations between former enemies	"The summit led to rapprochement between the rivals."
entente	a friendly understanding between states	"The Triple Entente united France, Russia, and Britain."
sovereignty	supreme authority over a territory	"The treaty respected each nation's sovereignty."
hegemony	dominance of one state over others	"American hegemony shaped the post-war order."
multilateral	involving three or more parties	"Multilateral negotiations produced the climate accord."
bilateral	involving two parties	"The bilateral treaty normalized relations."
diplomatic immunity	exemption from prosecution granted to diplomats	"Diplomatic immunity protected the ambassador."
persona non grata	an unwelcome person, especially a diplomat	"The spy was declared persona non grata."

🏛️Political Systems & Ideologies10

Term	Definition	Example
autocracy	government by a single person with absolute power	"The revolution ended centuries of autocracy."
oligarchy	government by a small elite group	"Critics called it an oligarchy of billionaires."
plutocracy	government by the wealthy	"Campaign finance laws aim to prevent plutocracy."
technocracy	government by technical experts	"The pandemic empowered technocracy."
theocracy	government by religious leaders	"The state operated as a theocracy."
federalism	division of power between central and regional governments	"Federalism allows states to experiment with policies."
populism	politics appealing to ordinary people against elites	"Populism swept across democracies worldwide."
authoritarianism	concentration of power with limited political freedoms	"The country's slide into authoritarianism alarmed observers."
libertarianism	ideology prioritizing individual liberty and minimal government	"Libertarianism opposes most regulations."
totalitarianism	absolute state control over all aspects of life	"Totalitarianism crushed all dissent."

🗳️Political Processes & Tactics10

Term	Definition	Example
filibuster	prolonged speaking to delay legislative action	"The senator's filibuster lasted fourteen hours."
gerrymander	manipulating electoral boundaries for advantage	"Gerrymandering created safe seats for the party."
caucus	a meeting of party members to select candidates or decide policy	"The Iowa caucus launches the primary season."
mandate	authority granted by electoral victory	"The landslide gave him a clear mandate."
referendum	a direct vote on a specific issue	"The referendum decided the constitutional question."
plebiscite	a direct vote on a major political question	"The plebiscite determined independence."
coalition	an alliance of parties or factions	"No party won outright, so a coalition governed."
bipartisan	supported by two major parties	"The infrastructure bill had bipartisan support."
lame duck	an official whose term is ending with reduced power	"The lame duck president made few initiatives."
logrolling	exchanging political favors, especially votes	"Logrolling passed both senators' pet projects."

🌍Geopolitics & Strategy10

Term	Definition	Example
balance of power	distribution of power preventing any one state's dominance	"The alliance maintained the balance of power."
sphere of influence	a region where one power has dominant authority	"Eastern Europe was in the Soviet sphere of influence."
buffer state	a neutral country between rival powers	"Belgium was designed as a buffer state."
proxy war	a conflict where major powers support opposing sides	"The civil war became a proxy war between superpowers."
containment	preventing the expansion of hostile power	"Containment defined Cold War strategy."
deterrence	discouraging attack through threat of retaliation	"Nuclear deterrence prevented direct conflict."
brinksmanship	pushing a dangerous situation to the edge	"Cuban Missile Crisis exemplified brinksmanship."
Balkanization	fragmentation into smaller hostile units	"Critics warned of Balkanization of the region."
Finlandization	forced neutrality under a powerful neighbor's influence	"Some feared Finlandization of border states."
soft power	influence through culture and values rather than coercion	"Hollywood extends American soft power globally."

Explore Other Groups

People & Personality Communication Intellectual Social & Moral Descriptive Foreign Phrases Emotions & Mind Time & Change