warfare

noun

ˈwȯr-ˌfer How to pronounce warfare (audio)
Definition of warfarenext
1
as in war
a lack of agreement or harmony that troubled household seems to be almost constantly in a state of warfare

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rivalry
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another companies engaged in constant warfare for dominance in the market for smart phones and tablets

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 warfare Veterans and religious leaders accuse the administration of trivializing warfare and its costs. — Susan Page, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 Hybrid warfare Western intelligence services have repeatedly pointed fingers at Russia over a series of seemingly unrelated security incidents across Europe. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026 Greece sees the system as central to modernizing its forces amid tensions with NATO neighbor Turkey, embracing new doctrines to counter ballistic missiles, drones, cyber threats and other evolving forms of warfare. — Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 This identity flux adds to the difficulty of Nigeria’s fight against guerrilla warfare, Angalapu said. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for warfare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for warfare
  1. war
  2. rivalry
  3. strife
  4. battle
  5. discord
  6. struggle
  7. conflict
  8. competition
Noun
  • Trump on Wednesday said energy prices that have been elevated due to the Iran war will not come down until after the midterm elections, which are due in November.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The senior Iranian official said the country has been rebuilding its military capabilities since the most intense period of the war ended in April and has enough missiles for a lengthy conflict.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of war
Noun
  • The Boot Bowl rivalry, which began in 2012, doesn’t have the longest history, but for fans in Burleson, few events bring the town together quite like it.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Duane Davis guilty in murder of Tupac Shakur Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas, a jury has provided some closure in the saga of rivalry, revenge and retribution in the hip-hop world.
    — Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of rivalry
Noun
  • At its heart are two families on different sides of a financial divide who intersect when Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong), a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy heir, Sang-woo (Zo In-sung), attempts to make a film about labor strife.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026
  • This sport is rooted in traditions that span generations and have endured through two world wars, economic booms, depressions and social strife.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of strife
Noun
  • Don’t shrink to avoid disagreement, but don’t make everything a battle for control either.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Mustafa, who was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and fled to Norway as a child, said the film was inspired by his encounter with a female Peshmerga sniper during the 2014 frontline battles, as female Kurdish fighters countered Islamic State attacks.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of battle
Noun
  • Party discord has also been a problem as leaders like Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, have developed their own fundraising and organizing infrastructure to harness political support independent of the state party.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There’s discord between the House of Representatives and the Senate on the deadline to vote on the extension, but the earliest that could happen is September 30 and the latest is December 11.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of discord
Noun
  • Countries with far smaller digital ecosystems, like Cambodia and Laos, have even greater struggles to attract and retain AI talent.
    — Brian Wong, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Underwood wasn’t Michigan’s only problem, but his struggles were impossible to ignore.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggle
Noun
  • Addressing this prolonged trade conflict, Washington political news outlet POLITICO brought together four veteran journalists specializing in US-Canada relations and trade policy to analyze potential future trajectories.
    — , CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Since then, the conflict has taken on an ethnic as well as an international dimension, embroiling Sudan’s neighbors but also the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Iran.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of conflict
Noun
  • The revelation of the changes comes amid intense competition in the AI industry, as companies release updates to their large language models at a frenetic pace, each seeking to pull ahead of the other.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Consumer prices rose anyway, because without competition, Amazon could charge more in the long run.
    — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of competition

Browse Nearby Words

wares
warfare
warfares
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Warfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/warfare. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on warfare

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about warfare

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of loath

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All