as in cold war
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Recent Examples of limited war
In contrast, China has made targeted investments intended to give it an advantage in a quick, limited war, while keeping its overall defense spending relatively modest: Beijing’s defense spending has risen from five percent of U.S. levels in 1995 to 32 percent in 2017.
—
Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 20 May 2025
Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in a limited war since last October, but Israeli forces have significantly escalated the scope of their attacks since the beginning of September in an attempt to force Hezbollah to stop its attacks on northern Israel.
—Mike Brest, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Sep. 2024
Western policymakers in Washington also believe that Iran is relatively satisfied with the more limited war’s outcome so far: The Hamas attacks seriously undermined diplomacy meant to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
—Matt Bradley, NBC News, 14 Dec. 2023
But the fight to capture it risks putting Israel on a collision course with the Biden administration, which has called on Israel to minimize civilian casualties and ease humanitarian deprivation in Gaza, and to hew to a more limited war aim of expelling Hamas from power.
—Gordon Lubold, WSJ, 7 Dec. 2023
Many scholars panned the book, believing its 34-year-old author had overestimated the nation’s ability to keep limited war limited.
—David E. Sanger, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023
And as always, there’s no guarantee that a limited war would stay limited.
—Joshua Keating, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 20 May 2025
Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in a limited war since last October, but Israeli forces have significantly escalated the scope of their attacks since the beginning of September in an attempt to force Hezbollah to stop its attacks on northern Israel.
—Mike Brest, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Sep. 2024
Western policymakers in Washington also believe that Iran is relatively satisfied with the more limited war’s outcome so far: The Hamas attacks seriously undermined diplomacy meant to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
—Matt Bradley, NBC News, 14 Dec. 2023
But the fight to capture it risks putting Israel on a collision course with the Biden administration, which has called on Israel to minimize civilian casualties and ease humanitarian deprivation in Gaza, and to hew to a more limited war aim of expelling Hamas from power.
—Gordon Lubold, WSJ, 7 Dec. 2023
Many scholars panned the book, believing its 34-year-old author had overestimated the nation’s ability to keep limited war limited.
—David E. Sanger, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023
And as always, there’s no guarantee that a limited war would stay limited.
—Joshua Keating, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for limited war
Noun
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The border cold war finally thawed, and over the next decade-plus the schools slowly renewed acquaintances in several sports, including men’s basketball.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
31 Aug. 2025
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Some of the largest states in the union are currently engaged in a cold war over the House of Representatives, which the Republicans hold with a single-digits majority.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Maybe not something drastic like a world war, slavery or the Holocaust, but there’s always shady s–t going on.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2025
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By the late 1930s, the United States was unprepared for the scale of airpower a world war would demand.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
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And just this past January, NPR also reported that nearly two dozen Colombian mercenaries died fighting in the Sudanese civil war.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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After Lebanon’s civil war ended in 1990, Hezbollah expanded its influence across politics and society by remaining armed – unlike other militias, it was exempted from disarmament under the Taif Agreement due to its role in resisting Israeli occupation.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In 1992, the government pressured Muslim clerics to declare a holy war against Nuba who opposed the regime.—
Nicolas Niarchos,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
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While Tedesco calls for a holy war in response to the attack, Benitez takes a different approach, declaring that violence should not be met with more violence.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Limited war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/limited%20war. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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