chemical warfare

noun

: tactical warfare using substances (such as incendiary mixtures, smoke, or gases) with irritant, burning, poisonous, or asphyxiating properties

There were other isolated instances of chemical warfare. The Greeks used a gas attack with sulphur fumes at the siege of Delium in 424 B.C.

—Bernard and Fawn M. Brodie

The forswearing of chemical warfare by the major combatants in World War II foreshadowed the later nuclear "balance of terror," during the Cold War.

—Clifford F. Beal

Examples of chemical warfare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On a nearby hill overlooking the highway was the chemical warfare battalion base for the 4th Armored Division, an elite unit led by Assad’s younger brother Maher and which had acted as a sort of praetorian guard for his government. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024

Beginning with widespread use during World War I, sulfur mustard has had a long history of use as a chemical warfare agent. —New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2024

The trail links Rocky Flats with the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, land outside of downtown Denver that also was cleaned up after contamination from the manufacture of chemical warfare agents, including mustard gas, for World War II. —Gary Stoller, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Later, in 1989, Israel's high-profile participation in the Paris conference on chemical weapons demonstrated that Israel sided with the international community in its efforts to strengthen the international norm against chemical warfare. —Avner Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2013

Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

chemical warfare

noun

: tactical warfare using incendiary mixtures, smokes, or irritant, burning, poisonous, or asphyxiating gases