state of war
noun phrase
1
a
: a state of actual armed hostilities regardless of a formal declaration of war
b
: a legal state created and ended by official declaration regardless of actual armed hostilities and usually characterized by operation of the rules of war
2
: the period of time during which a state of war is in effect
Examples of state of war in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After the end of the Korean War in 1953, a formal peace treaty was never signed between the two Koreas, leaving them technically in a state of war.
—
Nectar Gan, CNN, 23 June 2024
This vicious cycle keeps incarcerated people and jail staff in a chronic state of war with each other, and increases violence after people return to the community.
—Dr. James Gilligan, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2024
Besides, how can a Russian family plan for the future in a permanent state of war?
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024
While Zelenskyy’s approval ratings have slipped as many Ukrainians have grown disillusioned with the prolonged state of war, Zaluzhnyi, who rarely speaks in public, remains popular with the public and the military.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024
The two Koreas fought the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, which ended in a truce, leaving the two nations technically in an ongoing state of war.
—Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2024
But Hamas has talked about creating a permanent state of war.
—Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023
Although the fighting had stopped on May 8, 1945 in Europe and September 2, 1945, the United States remained under a state of war to allow for the completion of war crimes trials.
—Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2016
Just as important to him was getting the world to acknowledge the ongoing state of war between Haiti and France.
—Marlene L. Daut, Essence, 17 Oct. 2023
Nectar Gan, CNN, 23 June 2024
This vicious cycle keeps incarcerated people and jail staff in a chronic state of war with each other, and increases violence after people return to the community.
—Dr. James Gilligan, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2024
Besides, how can a Russian family plan for the future in a permanent state of war?
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024
While Zelenskyy’s approval ratings have slipped as many Ukrainians have grown disillusioned with the prolonged state of war, Zaluzhnyi, who rarely speaks in public, remains popular with the public and the military.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024
The two Koreas fought the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, which ended in a truce, leaving the two nations technically in an ongoing state of war.
—Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2024
But Hamas has talked about creating a permanent state of war.
—Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023
Although the fighting had stopped on May 8, 1945 in Europe and September 2, 1945, the United States remained under a state of war to allow for the completion of war crimes trials.
—Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2016
Just as important to him was getting the world to acknowledge the ongoing state of war between Haiti and France.
—Marlene L. Daut, Essence, 17 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'state of war.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near state of war
Cite this Entry
“State of war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20of%20war. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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