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
With Trump, the thinking goes, Putin can turn a hot war into a cold one and be satisfied with that—after all, Russian military and financial resources are not unlimited.
—
Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2025
New Delhi certainly has no intention of sparking a hot war.
—Michael Kugelman, Time, 3 May 2025
In addition, major hot wars, such as the one in Ukraine, cause supply chain disruptions that can have negative impacts on the growth and profitability of leading defense contractors.
—Gurufocus, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
More recently, by supplying arms and munitions to Ukraine NATO has engaged in a proxy hot war against Russia.
—Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2025
New Delhi certainly has no intention of sparking a hot war.
—Michael Kugelman, Time, 3 May 2025
In addition, major hot wars, such as the one in Ukraine, cause supply chain disruptions that can have negative impacts on the growth and profitability of leading defense contractors.
—Gurufocus, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
More recently, by supplying arms and munitions to Ukraine NATO has engaged in a proxy hot war against Russia.
—Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot war
hostilities
Noun
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These meetings initially took place virtually and then in person across different capitals, seeking a cessation of hostilities and the establishment of humanitarian corridors.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
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But Putin had other ideas, tying a halt in hostilities to the West readmitting certain Russian banks into the West’s financial network.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hot war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20war. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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