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
Since that film, things have only grown more dire, with wars also raging in Gaza and Iran. — Brent Lang, Variety, 21 July 2026 Except that Finley won’t entertain the possibility that American exhaustion with wars predates TikTok. — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images His latest comments contrast with investors’ recent willingness to look past wars, tariffs and other shocks. — Hugh Son, CNBC, 20 July 2026 Past installments of the franchise have spanned wars from World War II to Vietnam to the present and future. — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 18 July 2026 This has enormous implications for how wars start, end, and are waged. — Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Atlantic, 18 July 2026 During a recent concert where Graham Nash was speaking his mind about needless wars and his belief that the president started a war with Iran to distract from the Epstein files, someone in the audience yelled out. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026 But after two wars in nine months, there was a sense of tired resignation when news of the airstrikes hit Tehran Wednesday. — Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 11 July 2026 In this era of the manosphere, avoidable wars, and UFC heckling on the White House lawn, that feels healthy. — Amrit Dhir, New York Daily News, 11 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wars
  1. hostilities
  2. conflicts
  3. rivalries
  4. battles
  5. frictions
  6. struggles
  7. fights
  8. discords
Noun
  • The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on June 14 to halt hostilities, prompting gas to fall back below $4 a few days later.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • There was a respite from active hostilities following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17, that laid out the terms of an extended 60-day cease-fire to allow time for further negotiations to take place.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 20 July 2026
Definition of hostilities
Noun
  • Yacht companies are offering discounts and special offers on charters in the Mediterranean Sea this summer, as geopolitical conflicts cool demand.
    — Robert Frank, CNBC, 22 July 2026
  • The results included greater team alignment, fewer conflicts among leadership, faster decision-making and stronger cross-functional trust.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of conflicts
Noun
  • Goodall has become the dominant force in ring building in the UK, working for almost every conceivable promoter — unusual in itself given this is a sport built on such fierce sporting and commercial rivalries.
    — Chris McKenna, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Jurors also heard testimony from investigators and gang experts about the rivalries, alliances and subgroups that make up Sacramento’s street gang landscape.
    — Reeti Malhotra, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of rivalries
Verb
  • Both the poem and the film center around Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, who battles his way back home after the Trojan War.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026
  • Emmet Sheehan battles through 5⅓ strong innings and Shohei Ohtani belts his ninth leadoff homer, but the Dodgers are swept for the first time this season.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of battles
Noun
  • When algorithms see these frictions falling away, the need for a driver premium plummets, deflating the surge price.
    — Christopher S. Tang, The Conversation, 8 July 2026
  • These are the unglamorous frictions that decide whether the idea ever becomes infrastructure.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 July 2026
Definition of frictions
Noun
  • There are also examples of schools that reject students with academic or behavioral struggles.
    — Peter Greene, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • In a place whose people are forced to endure the same struggles as their parents (to paraphrase one of this film’s most aching laments), time will always be a flat circle.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 22 July 2026
Definition of struggles
Verb
  • The lowest score came from The Guardian, which handed it two stars out of five, while Giant Bomb landed positive overall with a complaint that the boss fights lean on damage sponges more than puzzles.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Recent budget fights over increasing defense spending, which failed to commit the UK to NATO’s spending targets at a time when wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue, only serve to illustrate this.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 17 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 24 Jul. 2026.

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