as in war
a a state or period of fighting between groups of people in the same country
a region that has had many civil wars
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Recent Examples of civil war
Tom Fletcher told the U.N. Security Council that the food security crisis in the Arab world’s poorest country, which is beset by civil war, has been accelerating since late 2023.
—
Edith M. Lederer, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2025
These dissenting voices emerged cautiously during the Syrian civil war in 2011 and have grown after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war on Gaza.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 9 July 2025
There is also now hopeful talk of the White House turning its attention to the two-year-old civil war in Sudan where millions have been displaced since April 2023.
—Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 9 July 2025
Nga Vương-Sandoval, the executive director of Refugees + Immigrants United Colorado, contends that the reasons why migrants leave their home countries today — political persecution and civil wars, gang violence, climate change, economic collapse and more — are myriad and nuanced.
—Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
Edith M. Lederer, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2025
These dissenting voices emerged cautiously during the Syrian civil war in 2011 and have grown after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war on Gaza.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 9 July 2025
There is also now hopeful talk of the White House turning its attention to the two-year-old civil war in Sudan where millions have been displaced since April 2023.
—Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 9 July 2025
Nga Vương-Sandoval, the executive director of Refugees + Immigrants United Colorado, contends that the reasons why migrants leave their home countries today — political persecution and civil wars, gang violence, climate change, economic collapse and more — are myriad and nuanced.
—Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil war
Noun
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The cumulative effect of crises on top of crises — from war, to daily explosions suspected to be sabotage, to skyrocketing inflation, to water and power cuts — has many Iranians reeling.—
Leily Nikounazar Arash Khamooshi,
New York Times,
26 July 2025
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Nearly 150 out of the 190 U.N. member states now do so, including several other European countries—Spain, Ireland and Norway—that have formally recognized Palestine since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
25 July 2025
Noun
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This ‘investment’ is all about the U.S. vs. China cold war, a theme driving the markets and pretty much everything else until further notice.—
Clem Chambers,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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At the center of the tech cold war are mirrored titans: Nvidia, the crown jewel of the U.S. AI economy, and Huawei, the symbol of China’s digital ambitions.—
Quartz Staff,
Quartz,
22 May 2025
Noun
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Singer pointed to the massive casualties from world wars, numbers that the world has not seen in several of the most recent conflicts combined.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
30 June 2025
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As if two world wars—and countless smaller conflicts over the centuries—weren't enough for today's EU leaders.—
Dan Gooding
Barney Henderson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Noun
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These negotiations come at a particularly fraught moment, following a 12-day conflict triggered by Israeli attacks on Iranian targets.—
Amir Daftari
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 July 2025
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More than 130,000 people have been evacuated from conflict areas in Thailand, where the death toll rose to 15 as of early Friday, 14 of those civilians, according to the health ministry.—
Shoon Naing,
USA Today,
25 July 2025
Noun
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Many Russians will come to believe that Russia is fighting a holy war against the West and NATO, and that Western sanctions are designed to make ordinary Russians suffer.—
Maxim Mironov,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Mar. 2022
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In 1992, the government pressured Muslim clerics to declare a holy war against Nuba who opposed the regime.—
Nicolas Niarchos,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Noun
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In contrast, China has made targeted investments intended to give it an advantage in a quick, limited war, while keeping its overall defense spending relatively modest: Beijing’s defense spending has risen from five percent of U.S. levels in 1995 to 32 percent in 2017.—
Oriana Skylar Mastro,
Foreign Affairs,
20 May 2025
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And as always, there’s no guarantee that a limited war would stay limited.—
Joshua Keating,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Civil war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20war. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
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