holy war

Definition of holy warnext

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of holy war While Tedesco calls for a holy war in response to the attack, Benitez takes a different approach, declaring that violence should not be met with more violence. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2025 But as Paul starts to meet the prophetic expectations of his most fervent followers, there are signs of a holy war that could have terrible consequences. Scott Tobias, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025 After the September 11 attacks, evangelical American missionaries followed military tanks into Afghanistan and Iraq to convert Muslims as part of a holy war. Rozina Ali, The New York Review of Books, 31 Oct. 2024 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 See All Example Sentences for holy war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holy war
Noun
  • Entire offices were closed or gutted, including the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy; and the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, which dispatched officers to countries emerging from civil war.
    Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Last December, armed rebels previously aligned with terror groups finally ousted Assad from power after a 14 year civil war.
    Lucia I Suarez Sang, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • But the fallout lasted years, beginning Murphy's cold war with the show.
    Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
  • Straubel founded Redwood Materials in 2017, which is rapidly expanding and has grown into the United States’ first line of defense for recycling critical minerals in the potential supply-chain cold war with China—now at a temporary truce.
    Jordan Blum, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The Islamist war on Christians in Africa is another front of this world war that stretches from Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the South.
    Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
  • In fact, winning independence required a world war in all but name.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in a limited war since last October, but Israeli forces have significantly escalated the scope of their attacks since the beginning of September in an attempt to force Hezbollah to stop its attacks on northern Israel.
    Mike Brest, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Sep. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Holy war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holy%20war. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

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