variants
or less commonly jehad
1
: a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty
also
: a personal struggle in devotion to Islam especially involving spiritual discipline
2
: a crusade for a principle or belief
Examples of jihad in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Over several months, Akhtar allegedly expressed strong support for the Islamic State group and violent jihad, including aspirations to travel overseas to join it.
—
Elaine Mallon, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2025
All over Nigeria, these terrorists are going about on a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2025
These fissures are where Islamism leaps in to segregate, cohort, and indoctrinate with antidemocratic illiberal Islamist values forming the milieu ripe for radicalization, including terrorism and evolutionary jihad.
—Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Their highest goal is death through jihad; every death is, to them, a martyrdom to be replaced by the next.
—Noa Tishby, New York Daily News, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for jihad
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Elaine Mallon, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2025
All over Nigeria, these terrorists are going about on a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2025
These fissures are where Islamism leaps in to segregate, cohort, and indoctrinate with antidemocratic illiberal Islamist values forming the milieu ripe for radicalization, including terrorism and evolutionary jihad.
—Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Their highest goal is death through jihad; every death is, to them, a martyrdom to be replaced by the next.
—Noa Tishby, New York Daily News, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for jihad
Cite this Entry
“Jihad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jihad. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share