as in civil war
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Recent Examples of holy war
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
Absolute Dominion takes place In the year 2063 AD, when the world faces catastrophe as zealots and extremists wage a global holy war in the name of spiritual superiority.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 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
If anything, Russia’s rhetoric about the war has become more annihilationist, invoking the Russian Orthodox Church and suggesting that the conflict is something like a holy war, with existential consequences.
—Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 21 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for holy war
Scott Tobias, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
Absolute Dominion takes place In the year 2063 AD, when the world faces catastrophe as zealots and extremists wage a global holy war in the name of spiritual superiority.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 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
If anything, Russia’s rhetoric about the war has become more annihilationist, invoking the Russian Orthodox Church and suggesting that the conflict is something like a holy war, with existential consequences.
—Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 21 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for holy war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holy war
Noun
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And just this past January, NPR also reported that nearly two dozen Colombian mercenaries died fighting in the Sudanese civil war.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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After Lebanon’s civil war ended in 1990, Hezbollah expanded its influence across politics and society by remaining armed – unlike other militias, it was exempted from disarmament under the Taif Agreement due to its role in resisting Israeli occupation.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The border cold war finally thawed, and over the next decade-plus the schools slowly renewed acquaintances in several sports, including men’s basketball.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
31 Aug. 2025
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Some of the largest states in the union are currently engaged in a cold war over the House of Representatives, which the Republicans hold with a single-digits majority.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Maybe not something drastic like a world war, slavery or the Holocaust, but there’s always shady s–t going on.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2025
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By the late 1930s, the United States was unprepared for the scale of airpower a world war would demand.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Aug. 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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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
Cite this Entry
“Holy war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holy%20war. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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