Dictionary

weaponise en · VERB

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *wēpną Proto-West Germanic *wāpn Old English wēpn Middle English wepen English weapon English -ise English weaponise From weapon + -ise.

Meanings

1. (UK, alt-of, nonstandard) Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of weaponize.
   alt of weaponize
   • International scrutiny had driven Chinese authorities away from extrajudicial detention towards forms of "lawfare" and weaponising criminal prosecutions, Ms [Rayhan] Asat said. 2024 August 23, Max Walden, “China’s Uyghur Policies a ‘Racialised Atrocity Crime’, Harvard Law Scholar Finds”, in ABC News, Sydney, N.S.W.: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2024:
   • Taiwan fears Xi Jinping has been inspired by Adolf Hitler's tactics, and is calling on our federal government to take action, warning a Chinese invasion would allow Beijing to rule the world by weaponising its computer chip industry. The Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister compared the sector to the Czech armaments which boosted the capability of the Nazis in World War II. 2025 August 25, 0:00 from the start, in Taiwan warns of Chinese invasion and chip industry domination, Seven News, archived from the original on 01 Sep 2025:
   • Like Twin Peaks: The Return, another rare reboot that worked, Party Down weaponises the fact that so much time has passed since the original series, that the cast is older and slightly more crinkled around the forehead. 2023 April 7, Gwilym Mumford, “The Guide #81: Party Down is the rarest kind of reboot – it actually has something to say”, in The Guardian:
   • Post-Love Island, we have the weaponised horniness of Too Hot to Handle, the hoodwinkery of Ready to Mingle, we have a landscape where Love Is Blind is allowed to happen, and I would even argue that the ancient format of Married at First Sight had a Love Island-adjacent uplift. 2022 March 19, Joel Golby, “Love in the Flesh: it's Love Island-lite – but have they swapped nudes beforehand?”, in The Guardian:
   • Vladimir Putin is seeking to weaponise the threat of mass migration to divide and weaken Europe as supporters of Ukraine struggle to maintain unity to defeat Russia, Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister, says. 2024 May 17, Patrick Wintour, “Putin seeking to weaponise threat of mass migration, warns Estonian PM”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Deriveds

weaponiser · weaponisable · weaponisation