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 war
Iran for 47 years now has been at war — with the United States, with Iraq, economic war and now hot war.
—
Mishal Husain, Bloomberg, 13 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Mishal Husain, Bloomberg, 13 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot war
hostilities
Noun
-
The onset of hostilities was enough to persuade around a hundred and eighty Democrats to support the measure.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of repeatedly violating the pause in hostilities.—
Samya Kullab,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hot war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20war. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
