as in wars
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 wars
Each of these civil wars ended in peace agreements that paved the way for peaceful elections, yet insecurity and economic woes continue to plague the three nations.
—
Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
All revolutions are ultimately civil wars, right?
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2025
Then, back-to-back civil wars in the 1990s and 2000s cratered the economy.
—Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
This week marks a decade since Merkel’s historic decision to open her country’s borders to the large numbers of migrants who were then arriving in Europe in search of refuge from civil wars or dire economic hardship.
—Sebastian Shukla, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
In the 20th century, China was devastated by civil wars, Japanese occupation, and then very bad policies which led to low productivity and widespread famine.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
All revolutions are ultimately civil wars, right?
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2025
Then, back-to-back civil wars in the 1990s and 2000s cratered the economy.
—Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
This week marks a decade since Merkel’s historic decision to open her country’s borders to the large numbers of migrants who were then arriving in Europe in search of refuge from civil wars or dire economic hardship.
—Sebastian Shukla, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
In the 20th century, China was devastated by civil wars, Japanese occupation, and then very bad policies which led to low productivity and widespread famine.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil wars
Noun
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She's also covered the cartel wars along the TX-MX border, Congress in Mexico City, 3 presidential races, and 6 hurricanes.—
Karen Brooks Harper,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Jan. 2026
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No One Knows What to Call Venezuela The wars since 1945 have not actually been so explicitly about resources, yet the President can't seem to stop talking about oil and energy.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Those presidents asked for permission to conduct hostilities because the supreme law of the land, the Constitution, unambiguously vests the war power in Congress.—
Conor Friedersdorf,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
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Almost three years since the start of the Sudanese civil war, there are few signs of the hostilities ending soon, with experts fearing the world’s gravest humanitarian crisis could yet worsen.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Their world inside Parchman was defined by regulation of contraband items, the work they were told to do, conflicts with other inmates, and the corruption and neglect of the prison administrators.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
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Though there are no mentions in Woman Down of conflicts between the cast of the movie-within-the-book, Petra did butt heads with a producer named Allister Jones, who was behind the changes to the plot for the adaptation.—
Benjamin VanHoose,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Civil wars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20wars. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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