What does "war" mean?
Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces.
War
/wɔː/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces.
- Grammar: war is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: warfare, all-out war, altercation, american revolution.
- Useful contrasts: political settlement, armistice, armistices.
- Usage evidence: One million people lost their lives in the war.
How to use "war"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "war" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "war" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "war" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "war" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "war" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "warfare" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "war", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces. uncountable
"holy war; just war; civil war"
- 2 Initialism of write after read, a kind of data hazard. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
- 3 a concerted campaign to end something that is injurious wordnet
- 4 A particular conflict of this kind. countable
"All human tribes glad token see In the close of the wars of Grant and Lee."
- 5 Acronym of wins above replacement. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 the waging of armed conflict against an enemy wordnet
- 7 Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, particularly groups considered terrorists. countable, proscribed, sometimes
"Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."
- 8 an active struggle between competing entities wordnet
- 9 Any protracted conflict, particularly broadly, countable
"the War on Poverty... the War on Drugs... the War on Christmas..."
- 10 a legal state created by a declaration of war and ended by official declaration during which the international rules of war apply wordnet
- 11 Any protracted conflict, particularly; A sustained campaign against a social problem, idea, set of values, etc. US, broadly, countable, uncountable
"The war against war is going to be no holiday excursion or camping party... Ask all our millions, north and south, whether they would vote now (were such a thing possible) to have our war for the Union expunged from history... and probably hardly a handful of eccentrics would say yes. Those ancestors, those efforts, those memories and legends, ar the most ideal part of what we now own together, a sacred spiritual possession worth more than all the blood poured out. Yet ask those same people whether they would be willing, in cold blood, to start another civil war now to gain another similar possession, and not one man or woman would vote for the proposition."
- 12 Any protracted conflict, particularly; A protracted instance of fierce competition in trade. broadly, countable, uncountable
"price wars... Cola Wars... format wars..."
- 13 Any protracted conflict, particularly; A prolonged conflict between two groups of organized criminals, usually over organizational or territorial control. broadly, countable, uncountable
"turf war... gang war... Castellammarese War..."
- 14 Any protracted conflict, particularly; An argument between two or more people with opposing opinions on a topic or issue. Internet, broadly, countable, uncountable
"flame war... edit war..."
- 15 An assembly of weapons; instruments of war. obsolete, uncountable
"The God of Love himſelf inhabits there, With all his rage, and dread, and grief, and care, His complement of ſtores, and total war..."
- 16 Armed forces. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"On thir imbattelld ranks the Waves return, And overwhelm thir Warr"
- 17 Any of a family of card games where all cards are dealt at the beginning of play and players attempt to capture them all, typically involving no skill and only serving to kill time. uncountable
"We played crazy eights, war, fifty-two card pickup. Rudy flipped the whole deck across the table at me and the cards sailed to the floor, kings, queens, deuces."
Verb
- 1 To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe). intransitive
"...to war the Scot, and borders to defend..."
- 2 make or wage war wordnet
- 3 To carry on, as a contest; to wage. transitive
"[…], that thou by them mighteſt warre a good warfare,[…]."
Proper Noun
- 1 Preceded by the: designating a particularly notable war.; World War I. obsolete
"Through much of the War, Hitler carried his painter's kit, did water colors of War-ruined buildings."
- 2 Initialism of White Aryan Resistance. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 3 Preceded by the: designating a particularly notable war.; World War II. British, informal
- 4 Initialism of Web Application aRchive (a Java archive file). abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 5 The personification of war, often depicted in armour and riding a red horse; the red rider.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Initialism of Winchester Automatic Rifle. abbreviation, alt-of, historical, initialism
- 7 A city in West Virginia, United States.
- 8 Initialism of Women Against Registry. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"One million people lost their lives in the war."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "war"?
Common synonyms include: warfare, all-out war, altercation, american revolution, appeal to arms, ares.
How do you use "war" in a sentence?
One million people lost their lives in the war.
How do you pronounce "war"?
Pronounced /wɔː/.
Etymology
From Middle English werre, from Late Old English werre /wyrre (“armed conflict”), from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French guerre /werre (compare modern French guerre), from Medieval Latin werra, from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wers- (“to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”). Gradually displaced native Old English beadu, hild, ġewinn, orleġe, wīġ, and many others as the general term for "war" during the Middle English period. Related to Old High German werra (“confusion, strife, quarrel”) and German verwirren (“to confuse”), but not to Wehr (“defense”). Also related to Old Saxon werran (“to confuse, perplex”), Dutch war (“confusion, disarray”), West Frisian war (“confusion”), Old English wyrsa, wiersa (“worse”), Old Norse verri (“worse, orig. confounded, mixed up”), Italian guerra (“war”). There may be a connection with worse and wurst.