Synonyms for war
- noun
- verb
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Warfare
warfare, strife, fighting, hostilities, hostility, belligerence, enmity, warfighting, state of war, contention
Other
Verb
Definitions
- n. 1
Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces.
holy war; just war; civil war
- v. 1
To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe).
And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they slew all the males
Related words
Example sentences
- fighting They did not want to get involved in the fighting.
- warfare The two countries are engaged in biological warfare.
- hostilities They began to prepare for possible hostilities.
- strife This is nothing other than stirring up ethnic strife.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| war | steady | |
| fighting | rising | |
| warfare | steady | |
| hostilities | falling | |
| strife | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- arms1
- 5 letters
- fight1
- 6 letters
- battle2, combat2, strive1, strife1, enmity3, warray
- 7 letters
- warfare2, crusade2, contend2
- 8 letters
- campaign2, fighting2
- 9 letters
- hostility4
- 10 letters
- contention3
- 11 letters
- hostilities4, warfighting
- 12 letters
- belligerence4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (battle2 = 2 syllables).