1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

hot wars

noun

plural of hot war
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 hot wars 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot wars
  1. hostilities
  2. wars
  3. conflicts
Noun
  • Carriers have felt more comfortable bringing ultra-large container vessels through the area even with the hostilities in the Middle East lingering.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The bacterium’s hostilities were clear in the outbreak; most of the infected children developed symptoms within four days of the event, much faster than the usual incubation period of 4–10 days.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of hostilities
Noun
  • These and other wars in the region came at a huge human cost, too.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, revered by the global left for his stance on migration and the wars in Gaza and Iran, has faced mass protests over the Ceuta border crisis.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of wars
Noun
  • Moments like this are really what Housewives is supposed to be about — a genuine sisterhood with deep ties that take precedence over superfluous conflicts.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The average company is 109 years old, and more than half have been in business for over a century, surviving global conflicts and adapting through multiple industrial revolutions.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of conflicts

Browse Nearby Words

hot war
hot wars
hot water
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hot wars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20wars. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of churlish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All