as in hostilities
a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups
fortunately, the cool relationship between the two nations never escalated into a hot war
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Recent Examples of hot war
There are hot wars in Ukraine and Gaza, cold wars on the Korean peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait, and budding wars in Iran and parts of Africa.
—
Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Instead of fighting hot wars, the United States and its partners should leverage the great strength of the maritime world against the great weakness of the continentalists: their different capacities to generate wealth.
—S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
But American diplomacy — backed up by our military might — is what kept us out of a hot war with the Soviet Union, has prevented war between China and Taiwan, and ended conflict between Egypt and Israel, to name a few.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2025
The performative exchange of military strikes between Iran and the US means that a nuclear tipped hot war in the Middle East is off the cards for the moment, though the bad news is that a far greater crisis awaits.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Instead of fighting hot wars, the United States and its partners should leverage the great strength of the maritime world against the great weakness of the continentalists: their different capacities to generate wealth.
—S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
But American diplomacy — backed up by our military might — is what kept us out of a hot war with the Soviet Union, has prevented war between China and Taiwan, and ended conflict between Egypt and Israel, to name a few.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2025
The performative exchange of military strikes between Iran and the US means that a nuclear tipped hot war in the Middle East is off the cards for the moment, though the bad news is that a far greater crisis awaits.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot war
hostilities
Noun
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Australian law defines war crime murder as the intentional killing in a context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in the hostilities, such as a civilian, prisoner of war or a wounded soldier.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Markets have rallied in recent days amid hopes of a de-escalation in hostilities across multiple fronts, with equities rebounding back to pre-conflict levels.—
Hugh Leask,
CNBC,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hot war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20war. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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