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
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
China refuses to rule out the use of force to unify the island with the mainland, and a widening hard power imbalance across the Taiwan Strait is fueling concerns that Beijing could soon compel Taipei with the threat of a hot war.
—John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
Iran clearly wants to de-escalate its hot war with Israel, which is now in its fifth day and ostensibly over a nuclear program Israel sees as an existential threat.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 17 June 2025
The developments have led to a heightened sense of uncertainty and stress among many Americans, while a hot war in the Middle East between Israel and Iran is sparking fears of a wider global conflict the U.S. could become involved in.
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
China refuses to rule out the use of force to unify the island with the mainland, and a widening hard power imbalance across the Taiwan Strait is fueling concerns that Beijing could soon compel Taipei with the threat of a hot war.
—John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
Iran clearly wants to de-escalate its hot war with Israel, which is now in its fifth day and ostensibly over a nuclear program Israel sees as an existential threat.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 17 June 2025
The developments have led to a heightened sense of uncertainty and stress among many Americans, while a hot war in the Middle East between Israel and Iran is sparking fears of a wider global conflict the U.S. could become involved in.
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot war
hostilities
Noun
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Trump will need to hope for hostilities to be short-lasting, or for these voters to be forgiving.—
Javier Corrales,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
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Analysts say his intervention stopped escalating hostilities, though tensions persist in what remains a fragile, ongoing cold conflict between the longtime regional rivals.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hot war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20war. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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