war
Meanings
Plural: wars
Noun
- the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
- "thousands of people were killed in the war"
- a legal state created by a declaration of war and ended by official declaration during which the international rules of war apply
- "war was declared in November but actual fighting did not begin until the following spring"
- an active struggle between competing entities
- "a price war"
- "a war of wits"
- "diplomatic warfare"
- a concerted campaign to end something that is injurious
- "the war on poverty"
- "the war against crime"
- 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.
- A particular conflict of this kind.
- Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, particularly groups considered terrorists.
- Any protracted conflict, particularly
- Campaigns against various social problems.
- Any protracted conflict, particularly
- A protracted instance of fierce competition in trade.
- Any protracted conflict, particularly
- A prolonged conflict between two groups of organized criminals, usually over organizational or territorial control.
- Any protracted conflict, particularly
- An argument between two or more people with opposing opinions on a topic or issue.
- An assembly of weapons; instruments of war.
- Armed forces.
- 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.
Verb
- make or wage war
- To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe).
- To carry on, as a contest; to wage.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English werre, from Late Old English werre, wyrre (“armed conflict”), from Old Northern French 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.
Antonyms
make peace, peace
Scrabble Score: 6
war is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordwar is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
war is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary