HOT WAR Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

hot war

noun

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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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of hot war The Iranians seem aware of the growing possibility of a hot war with the U.S. and are frantically working to prepare themselves. —

Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 18 Feb. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for hot war

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot war

hostilities

Noun

Since Iran closed the strait in late February following the outbreak of hostilities, tankers have bottlenecked across the region as the vital oil chokepoint remains largely shut.

— Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2026
The Israeli military offensive in Lebanon has wiped out nearly a quarter of agricultural land in areas touched by hostilities, the Lebanese government reported today, as lethal strikes battered parts of the south.

— Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 8 May 2026