war of words
noun phrase
: an argument in which people or groups criticize and disagree with each other publicly and repeatedly for usually a long time
Rival groups have engaged in a war of words over the new law.
Examples of war of words in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On the political scene, a war of words appears to have erupted between the United States and Israel this week, as Washington hit back after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the slow delivery of U.S. weapons.
—
Adela Suliman and Hazem Balousha, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
In March, Kassan and UTA parted ways amid a war of words and legal and artibration claims that are still pending.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 17 June 2024
The war of words comes as Trump seeks to win a bigger share of Black votes in his looming White House rematch with President Biden.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 5 June 2024
Both rappers have made statements capable of inciting real-world violence; the lesson in the deaths of legends like 2Pac is never to let a war of words devolve into crashing out.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 May 2024
There followed a written war of words between a senior HTS official, Abd al-Rahim Atun, who sought to defend the group’s decision to go its own way, and two senior al Qaeda members in Syria, Sami al-Uraydi and the aforementioned Abu al-Qassam.
—Cole Bunzel, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2021
Earlier this month, Sharpe and O’Neal's disagreement over the 2024 NBA MVP choice led to a war of words that included an unexpected diss track from O’Neal on May 10.
—Danielle Jennings, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
What started as a war of words between Lamar and Drake quickly devolved into something more sinister, with each airing the other’s dirty laundry in public and taking vicious potshots.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 8 May 2024
Their war of words hit a crescendo on the weekend of May 3, but tensions have been simmering for years.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 6 May 2024
Adela Suliman and Hazem Balousha, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
In March, Kassan and UTA parted ways amid a war of words and legal and artibration claims that are still pending.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 17 June 2024
The war of words comes as Trump seeks to win a bigger share of Black votes in his looming White House rematch with President Biden.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 5 June 2024
Both rappers have made statements capable of inciting real-world violence; the lesson in the deaths of legends like 2Pac is never to let a war of words devolve into crashing out.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 May 2024
There followed a written war of words between a senior HTS official, Abd al-Rahim Atun, who sought to defend the group’s decision to go its own way, and two senior al Qaeda members in Syria, Sami al-Uraydi and the aforementioned Abu al-Qassam.
—Cole Bunzel, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2021
Earlier this month, Sharpe and O’Neal's disagreement over the 2024 NBA MVP choice led to a war of words that included an unexpected diss track from O’Neal on May 10.
—Danielle Jennings, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
What started as a war of words between Lamar and Drake quickly devolved into something more sinister, with each airing the other’s dirty laundry in public and taking vicious potshots.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 8 May 2024
Their war of words hit a crescendo on the weekend of May 3, but tensions have been simmering for years.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 6 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'war of words.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“War of words.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war%20of%20words. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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