as in cold war
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Recent Examples of world war
In retrospect, this may be one of the most significant insights of his pontificate—the frank recognition that the number and gravity of violent conflicts constitute a world war that has largely gone unrecognized.
—
Paul Elie, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
The vast majority of respondents, 71%, also said that nuclear weapons would likely be used in another world war, while just 17% said this would be unlikely.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 7 May 2025
Resentful and determined to destroy Serbia, Austria-Hungary instead precipitated a world war that destroyed the empire itself and much else.
—Margaret MacMillan, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2025
Working people have no interest in exploitation or another world war.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for world war
Paul Elie, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
The vast majority of respondents, 71%, also said that nuclear weapons would likely be used in another world war, while just 17% said this would be unlikely.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 7 May 2025
Resentful and determined to destroy Serbia, Austria-Hungary instead precipitated a world war that destroyed the empire itself and much else.
—Margaret MacMillan, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2025
Working people have no interest in exploitation or another world war.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for world war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for world war
Noun
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Orson Welles’s 1955 cold war thriller Mr. Arkadin is the key to Wes Anderson’s psychological puzzle The Phoenician Scheme.—
Armond White,
National Review,
30 May 2025
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The outcome of the Geneva talks was a temporary de-escalation of a wide-ranging cold war that is in fact much bigger than trade.—
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Or how both my parents survived civil war and the Chinese Cultural Revolution.—
Esther Lin,
Time,
12 June 2025
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That, and staying sane and alive in the first U.S. civil war.—
Teddy Wayne
June 10,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
Noun
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Many Russians will come to believe that Russia is fighting a holy war against the West and NATO, and that Western sanctions are designed to make ordinary Russians suffer.—
Maxim Mironov,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Mar. 2022
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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
Noun
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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
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And as always, there’s no guarantee that a limited war would stay limited.—
Joshua Keating,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
Cite this Entry
“World war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/world%20war. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
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