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
The widespread reports of looting and civil war further exacerbated the situation as survivors swarmed the Superdome and the nearby convention center.
—
ArsTechnica, 27 July 2025
Casselberry Coin Club: The program will be a slide show about English civil war siege tokens.
—Joe Rassel, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 July 2025
After more than two years of civil war, the scale of obliteration was utterly tragic.
—Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR, 30 July 2025
Although the United States and Israel both claim to want peace, security and stability in a country whose nearly 14-year civil war ended in December, the two states aren’t playing by the same set of rules and don’t even share the same goals.
—Daniel Depetris, Twin Cities, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
ArsTechnica, 27 July 2025
Casselberry Coin Club: The program will be a slide show about English civil war siege tokens.
—Joe Rassel, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 July 2025
After more than two years of civil war, the scale of obliteration was utterly tragic.
—Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR, 30 July 2025
Although the United States and Israel both claim to want peace, security and stability in a country whose nearly 14-year civil war ended in December, the two states aren’t playing by the same set of rules and don’t even share the same goals.
—Daniel Depetris, Twin Cities, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil war
Noun
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As an additional way to pressure the Russian Federation to end its war, Trump also announced that the United States will continue sending defense aid to Ukraine.—
Mark Temnycky,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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The intent was to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to fund its war in Ukraine, forcing the Russian government either to sell its oil at a discount or divert money for a costly alternative shipping network.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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On Thursday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes breaks down a part of the recent tax bill that adds new ships to the Coast Guard's fleet in the Northwest Passage, and the broader context in that region amid an ongoing cold war with China.—
Taylor Wilson,
USA Today,
10 July 2025
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The Arab-Iranian cold war has been a primary factor behind Israel’s increasing diplomatic coziness with its Arab neighbors, who have largely shelved generations of anger against the Jewish state in order to check Iranian power.—
Matt Bradley,
NBC news,
24 June 2025
Noun
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In the 20th century, that meant the Great Depression and two world wars, as well as violence against people of color and all sorts of oppression.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
31 July 2025
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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
Noun
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Ukrainian officials rejected this position, stating that Ukraine did not initiate the conflict and that only the Russian president has the authority to order a full military withdrawal.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
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Peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict took place at the White House.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
19 Aug. 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 21 Aug. 2025.
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