state of war

noun phrase

1
a
: a state of actual armed hostilities regardless of a formal declaration of war
b
: a legal state created and ended by official declaration regardless of actual armed hostilities and usually characterized by operation of the rules of war
2
: the period of time during which a state of war is in effect

Examples of state of war in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web While Zelenskyy’s approval ratings have slipped as many Ukrainians have grown disillusioned with the prolonged state of war, Zaluzhnyi, who rarely speaks in public, remains popular with the public and the military. Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024 The two Koreas fought the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, which ended in a truce, leaving the two nations technically in an ongoing state of war. Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2024 But Hamas has talked about creating a permanent state of war. Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023 Although the fighting had stopped on May 8, 1945 in Europe and September 2, 1945, the United States remained under a state of war to allow for the completion of war crimes trials. Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2016 Just as important to him was getting the world to acknowledge the ongoing state of war between Haiti and France. Marlene L. Daut, Essence, 17 Oct. 2023 Graphic war videos go viral, testing social media’s rules Syria considers Israel an enemy, and the countries have been in a state of war since Israel was established 1948. Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2023 Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war. Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 9 Oct. 2023 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Saturday that the country is in a state of war. WSJ, 8 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'state of war.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of state of war was in 1634

Dictionary Entries Near state of war

Cite this Entry

“State of war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20of%20war. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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