1
as in hostilities
a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups
the war was the result of ethnic tensions that had been building in the region for decades
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in conflicts
a lack of agreement or harmony
the siblings always seemed to be at war with one another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in rivalries
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
only the latest round in the never-ending class war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wars
Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2025
The reasons for that lack of credibility extend well beyond the campus speech wars of the past few decades.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
In the wake of the assassination of prominent conservative figure Charlie Kirk, the rhetoric wars have taken to new levels of vitriol, with many on the right blaming the left writ large for such political violence, and vice versa.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 1 Oct. 2025
Exodus of top talent at Elon Musk’s companies The FT named 23 top executives who left Musk’s companies in recent months, many citing the frustration of working 24/7 and dealing with a CEO who deliberately stokes culture wars.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
Fox has also, after vowing to stay out of the subscription streaming wars, dipped a toe in with the launch of Fox One.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
Microsoft has been slowly bowing out of the console wars by putting more of its previously Xbox-exclusive games on rival platforms; with the Gears of War franchise being a pillar of Xbox’s brand identity, Reloaded’s serves a slick entry point to introducing the series to a whole new ecosystem.
—George Yang, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
The Department of War will stop wars.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
Beijing launched a sweeping investigation into Mexico’s tariffs on Chinese imports, highlighting the widening fallout of Washington’s trade wars.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
In one scene, real footage of Benjamin Netanyahu appears on the television of Anat’s father, who is suffering post-traumatic flashbacks from his own wars.
—Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2025
The reasons for that lack of credibility extend well beyond the campus speech wars of the past few decades.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
In the wake of the assassination of prominent conservative figure Charlie Kirk, the rhetoric wars have taken to new levels of vitriol, with many on the right blaming the left writ large for such political violence, and vice versa.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 1 Oct. 2025
Exodus of top talent at Elon Musk’s companies The FT named 23 top executives who left Musk’s companies in recent months, many citing the frustration of working 24/7 and dealing with a CEO who deliberately stokes culture wars.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
Fox has also, after vowing to stay out of the subscription streaming wars, dipped a toe in with the launch of Fox One.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
Microsoft has been slowly bowing out of the console wars by putting more of its previously Xbox-exclusive games on rival platforms; with the Gears of War franchise being a pillar of Xbox’s brand identity, Reloaded’s serves a slick entry point to introducing the series to a whole new ecosystem.
—George Yang, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
The Department of War will stop wars.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
Beijing launched a sweeping investigation into Mexico’s tariffs on Chinese imports, highlighting the widening fallout of Washington’s trade wars.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wars
Noun
-
Human rights advocates say Israel’s destruction of health infrastructure and intensified hostilities have hampered efforts to document the full scope of famine in Gaza.—
Soph Warnes,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
-
His support for a ceasefire and emphasis on humanitarian needs echo the global desire for stability as hostilities continue and diplomatic efforts intensify.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Digging in your heels invites trouble as Mercury conflicts Pluto.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The Third Avenue Project was designed to reduce the violence and open drug use through extensive outreach and the deescalation of conflicts between people on the street.—
Ashley Hiruko,
ProPublica,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This sense of competition has caused countless promotions to create timeless matches and rivalries that have stood the test of time, whether your looking at the Territories Era, the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW, or the rivalry between NJPW and AJPW in Japan.—
Jeremy Hanna,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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What was one of the best rivalries in the 1980s and 90s has lost some of its luster more recently, with one or both of the programs being down for much of the last decade.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Brian Schottenheimer battles through injuries Heading into the game against the Jets, Schottenheimer’s offensive line was wrecked by injury.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Disagreements among Democrats have emerged over how to conduct political messaging on the government shutdown as the party battles with the GOP over whom the public should blame for the impasse.—
Julia Manchester,
The Hill,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Indexing or eliminating caps would shift the burden from those least able to pay and smooth market frictions hurting families of all ages.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Because of these frictions, more and more types of companies that function across borders are looking to stablecoins as practical tools.—
Aaron Stanley,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
As Rogers’ rocky form will testify, Villa’s attacking struggles have not been through a lack of service, but rather the profligacy in possession.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
In correspondence that Khan made available to the investigators, his accuser appears to be very warm, prone to disclosure about her personal life and struggles, highly solicitous of Khan and his wife, and perhaps overeager.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
An international team of war correspondents fights to report the truth.—
Annika Pham,
Variety,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Hartnett is in Canada filming an untitled project for Netflix, which focuses on a fisherman who fights to protect his family and community when a sea creature begins to threaten his town.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Your dedicated Slack channels, private discords and endless Reddit threads.—
April Uchitel,
Flow Space,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wars. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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