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holy war

noun

Definition of holy warnext
as in civil war

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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 By the conclusion of the second film, Paul had aligned with the native Fremen people of Arrakis to successfully defeat House Harkonnen and began a holy war against the Empire. — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 14 Apr. 2026 Some of these invocations align with Hegseth’s recurring references to the Crusades in the Middle Ages – a centuries-long holy war between Christians and Muslims. — Samuel Perry, The Conversation, 6 Apr. 2026 This approach had a lasting impact, and even centuries after the mainline Crusades to the Holy Land ended, the pope continued to invoke the concept of holy war to justify resistance against the Ottoman Empire and other Muslim entities. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 3 Apr. 2026 Get ready for a 17-year time jump, as Timothée Chalamet's older, more jaded Paul Atreides continues to wrestle with holy war, his messianic status, and the fallout from opting to marry Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) rather than his Fremen girlfriend Chani (Zendaya). — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for holy war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holy war
  1. civil war
  2. cold war
  3. world war
  4. limited war
Noun
  • The advance ended a truce that had been in place since 2022 and had calmed a devastating civil war.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • That ultimately became Exit Party, a speculative story about a dystopian not-so-distant future in which the government of the United States has collapsed and Los Angeles has become something of a refugee camp from the latent civil war.
    — Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of civil war
Noun
  • The Saudis, then mired in a regional cold war with Iran, viewed the Houthis as an Iranian proxy force that threatened the kingdom’s borders.
    — Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • During Wallace and Shakur’s own rift, Knight and Combs’ own cold war simmered and ran even hotter than many initially believed.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of cold war
Noun
  • Born in 1946, in a country recovering from a civil war and a world war, Rodríguez entered a life marked by poverty in the southern Spanish village of Añora.
    — Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • But for the most part, today’s athletes weren’t shaped by the Great Depression and a world war.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of world war
Noun
  • In this scenario, which may already be coming to fruition, the meager hope is that the conflict transforms into simply a more limited war.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2024
  • Many scholars panned the book, believing its 34-year-old author had overestimated the nation’s ability to keep limited war limited.
    — David E. Sanger, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023
Definition of limited war

Browse Nearby Words

Holy Joes
holy war
holy wars
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Cite this Entry

“Holy war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holy%20war. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on holy war

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about holy war

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