What does disarmament mean?
Disarmament is the process of reducing or eliminating military weapons and armed forces, most often carried out through treaties and negotiations between states. The term is used most prominently in discussions of nuclear disarmament, but it can apply to any category of weaponry or to standing armies themselves. It may describe either the ongoing process of giving up arms or the resulting condition in which a nation possesses fewer weapons or none at all. Because it implies a deliberate, usually negotiated act rather than defeat in war, the word carries connotations of diplomacy, peace-building, and mutual trust, and it features heavily in the language of international bodies such as the United Nations. Figuratively, it can describe the lowering of emotional defenses between people. Related terms include rearmament, its opposite, and arms control, which limits rather than eliminates weapons.
nounThe act or process of reducing or eliminating military weapons and armed forces, especially by international agreement; also the state of having done so.
- The reduction or elimination of a country's military weapons and forces, especially through formal agreement.
- A reduction of hostile capability or readiness in a broader sense, such as the removal of defensive barriers in an argument or relationship.
"The treaty committed both nations to a gradual program of nuclear disarmament."
"International inspectors were sent to verify that both sides had honored their disarmament commitments."
"Her calm, honest apology achieved a kind of disarmament that no argument ever could."
Rarely pluralized; the word is almost always used as an uncountable mass noun referring to a general process or state.
The 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was championed so strongly by activists that the campaign behind it won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disarmament
Disarmament derives from the verb "disarm," formed from the prefix "dis-" (expressing reversal) plus "arm," which traces back to the Latin "arma," meaning tools, implements, or weapons. The noun was formed with the suffix "-ment" to denote the action or result of disarming, and it entered English usage around the late nineteenth century as modern arms-control diplomacy developed. It shares this Latin root "arma" with words such as "armament," "armor," "army," and "alarm."
How disarmament is actually used
"Disarmament" is a formal word belonging chiefly to political, diplomatic, and journalistic registers. It carries broadly positive connotations of peace and de-escalation, though critics may frame particular proposals as naive or dangerous. The adjective "unilateral" is frequently attached to it when one side reduces its arms without waiting for reciprocal action.
Easily confused with disarmament
"Disarmament" means the reduction of weapons and armed forces, while "disbursement" means the paying out of money from a fund.