jihad
noun
chiefly British
-ˈhad \
Definition of jihad
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
Meanwhile, as many as 1,910 French nationals have gone to wage jihad in Iraq and Syria, according to the Soufan Center, which studies radicalization. — Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, "Struggling to prevent terrorist attacks, France wants to ‘reform’ Islam," 17 Apr. 2018 With a stuttering economy and a reputation for fostering jihad against its neighbors, the troubled nation needs a dose of introspection. — Sadanand Dhume, WSJ, "Will Imran Khan Turn Pakistan Into an Islamic Welfare State?," 12 July 2018 Plus, a pair of chilling domestic terror stories including a cross-country jihad. — Fox News, "Ingraham: Our collegiate indoctrination factory," 7 Mar. 2018 Trump’s pick for secretary of state has, like Bolton, aligned himself with the counter-jihad without endorsing their most extreme ideas. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "How John Bolton and Mike Pompeo mainstreamed Islamophobia," 27 Mar. 2018 In the past few years the sparks of jihad have been struck in this tinderbox. — The Economist, "Jihadists are trying to take over the Sahel," 12 July 2018 The Pentagon has carefully monitored the spread of radical Islamic jihad across Africa but insisted that American troops are there to train and team up with local forces, not necessarily to fight. — New York Times, "1 U.S. Soldier Is Killed and 4 Are Wounded in Somalia Firefight," 8 June 2018 The person replied that Lutchman needed to prove himself first with an act of jihad in the US. — Lisa Rose, CNN, "US has 1,000 open ISIS investigations but a steep drop in prosecutions," 16 May 2018 Bolton is endorsing a core policy idea of the counter-jihad — effectively, serving as their voice without the most extreme baggage. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "How John Bolton and Mike Pompeo mainstreamed Islamophobia," 27 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jihad.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for jihad
jihad
noun
English Language Learners Definition of jihad
: a war fought by Muslims to defend or spread their beliefs
See the full definition for jihad in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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