1
: military operations between enemies : hostilities, war
also
: an activity undertaken by a political unit (such as a nation) to weaken or destroy another
economic warfare
2
: struggle between competing entities : conflict
see also biological warfare, chemical warfare, cyber warfare, germ warfare, trench warfare
Examples of warfare in a Sentence
that troubled household seems to be almost constantly in a state of warfare
companies engaged in constant warfare for dominance in the market for smart phones and tablets
Recent Examples on the Web
The exercises were designed, NATO said, to hone their skills, military capabilities and cooperation for extreme cold weather warfare.
—
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 23 May 2025
Anti-Israel forces have a long-running strategy called Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, which calls for governments, universities and corporations to engage in forms of economic warfare against Israel.
—Alma Hernandez, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
The Department of Defense's bureaucratic inertia is ill-suited to the demands of real-time, adaptive AI warfare.
—Charles Beames, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Starvation as weapon of war The use of starvation as a weapon is strictly forbidden under the Geneva Conventions, a set of statutes that govern the laws of warfare.
—Yara M. Asi, The Conversation, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for warfare
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.
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 23 May 2025
Anti-Israel forces have a long-running strategy called Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, which calls for governments, universities and corporations to engage in forms of economic warfare against Israel.
—Alma Hernandez, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
The Department of Defense's bureaucratic inertia is ill-suited to the demands of real-time, adaptive AI warfare.
—Charles Beames, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Starvation as weapon of war The use of starvation as a weapon is strictly forbidden under the Geneva Conventions, a set of statutes that govern the laws of warfare.
—Yara M. Asi, The Conversation, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for warfare
Cite this Entry
“Warfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warfare. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
warfare
noun
war·fare
ˈwȯr-ˌfa(ə)r 
-ˌfe(ə)r
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share