wars 1 of 2

noun

plural of war
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

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2
as in conflicts
a lack of agreement or harmony the siblings always seemed to be at war with one another

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3
as in rivalries
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another only the latest round in the never-ending class war

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wars

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of war
as in battles

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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 wars
Noun
Ryan argues in a June report by the Lowy Institute that future wars will reward militaries able to recognize battlefield change, absorb lessons and adapt faster than their opponents. — David Kirichenko, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026 The Iran and Gaza wars have thrown that absence and European strategic impotence into sharp relief. — Galip Dalay, Time, 7 July 2026 Next to seemingly endless rows of bell peppers, sweet corn and leafy greens at B & T Farms stand thousand-gallon drums of nitrogen fertilizer, the cost of which has increased 125% since 2020 amid supply shocks and wars around the world. — Chase Hunter, Boston Herald, 6 July 2026 As Barthel and other cannabis scholars say, the federal and state government crackdowns over the past century fueled the negative stereotypes and were always more grounded in culture wars than in evidence of medical harm. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 6 July 2026 Ad wars Department of Human Services Commissioner Candice Broce, seen here at a budget hearing at the state Capitol in January. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 6 July 2026 Anyone who thinks that the differences between these sects are minor is invited to read about the wars, massacres and persecutions that erupted between them in the 16th and 17th centuries. — Kenneth Seeskin, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026 Credit card companies American Express and Chase are increasingly waging their luxury lounge wars outside the airport. — Ryan Baker, CNBC, 3 July 2026 With fewer buyers competing for homes, bidding wars may be less common this summer. — Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wars
  1. hostilities
  2. conflicts
  3. rivalries
  4. battles
  5. frictions
  6. struggles
  7. fights
  8. discords
Noun
  • Breaches are common and have been used strategically to set a standard, tit-for-tat style, of acceptable lower-level hostilities during the sensitive period.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
  • The recent military action tested an initial agreement that was supposed to halt hostilities during 60 days of negotiations.
    — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 29 June 2026
Definition of hostilities
Noun
  • Small commercial and military drones have become increasingly common in recent conflicts, performing reconnaissance, surveillance, and precision attack missions.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 8 July 2026
  • Painful conflicts with family over Israel are common The survey finds that rifts are springing up within families and communities over Israel, even among religiously unaffiliated Jews.
    — David Crary, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of conflicts
Noun
  • At a time when the news cycle seems to serve up nothing but conflict, crisis and woe, the World Cup offers shelter, a truly international event in which conflict is defined by long-term sports rivalries and questionable referee decisions.
    — Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • The Golden State Warriors are reportedly looking to pair James with Stephen Curry, which would turn one of the NBA's greatest rivalries into two of the game's greatest stars fighting for their fifth title together.
    — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of rivalries
Verb
  • If Wagner misses time again, if Suggs battles injuries again or if the roster isn’t completely healthy in April, expectations aren’t going anywhere.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 June 2026
  • Around 15 years later, Flay came to Nurdjaja and asked her to join Bobby's Triple Threat, in which a competitor battles three titans, including Flay's girlfriend Brooke Williamson and Michael Voltaggio, for a $25,000 prize.
    — Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 19 June 2026
Definition of battles
Noun
  • These are the unglamorous frictions that decide whether the idea ever becomes infrastructure.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 July 2026
  • For all those frictions, now is the time to start making acquisitions.
    — Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of frictions
Noun
  • Through speeches, chants and signs, demonstrators drew a line between the struggles local facility employees face and those carried by farmworkers in the Philippines.
    — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
  • DeGrom suffered first-inning struggles before settling in, his pattern this season.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of struggles
Verb
  • The court also limited its ruling to the realm of sports, leaving for another day fights over bathroom and locker room access for trans students.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 8 July 2026
  • In Aubervilliers, a Paris suburb, the doors gave way under the pressure of the crowd, and fights broke out among shoppers.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
Definition of fights
Noun
  • Your dedicated Slack channels, private discords and endless Reddit threads.
    — April Uchitel, Flow Space, 6 Aug. 2025
  • In every case, physical science, which is based on the evidence reported by these limited and limiting senses, eventually leaves us stranded with the conviction that sickness, accidents, and disasters – discords of every description, regardless of the apparent cause – are real and inevitable.
    — Lisa Rennie Sytsma, Christian Science Monitor, 20 June 2025
Definition of discords

Browse Nearby Words

warriors
wars
wars (against)
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Cite this Entry

“Wars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wars. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of wars for Spanish Speakers

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