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 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
Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot wars
Noun
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Aluminum hit the highest in almost four years before erasing gains, as escalating hostilities in the Middle East worsened the supply outlook from the region, while copper and other industrial metals fell on falling risk appetite.—
Bloomberg News,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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Moscow is profiting from a spike in oil prices, and the Kremlin bets a windfall from prolonged hostilities could help boost its coffers to pay for military operations in Ukraine and plug a budget deficit, The Associated Press wrote.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But the military outcome and the political outcome are almost never the same thing, and the gap between them is where wars fail.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
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Linda Bilmes, a Harvard expert on the cost of wars, told me that the United States used up more than 20% of its entire worldwide stockpile of THAAD interceptors last year defending Israel during the 12-day war with Iran.—
Nicholas D. Kristof,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The president noted that past military conflicts have dogged his predecessors, mentioning former President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and Jimmy Carter’s handling of the Iran hostage crisis.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
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Geopolitical conflicts and economic tensions this year have sparked a new wave of interest in gold as an investment.—
Liz Knueven,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hot wars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20wars. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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