war

Meanings

Noun

• Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually involving the engagement of military forces.
• A particular conflict of this kind.
• Any conflict, or anything resembling a conflict.
• Instruments of war.
• Armed forces.
• A particular card game for two players, notable for having its outcome predetermined by how the cards are dealt.

Verb

• To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe).
• To carry on, as a contest; to wage.

Related

Opposite words

• peace

Narrower meaning words

• civil war
• cold war
• conventional war
• dynastic war
• edit war
• flame war
• gas war
• holy war
• hot war
• Hundred Years' War
• Korean War
• nuclear war
• perpetual war
• pissing war
• price war
• propaganda war
• proxy war
• revert war
• Thirty Years' War
• thumb war
• total war
• trade war
• tribal war
• turf war
• undeclared war
• Vietnam War
• War on Christmas
• War on Drugs
• War on Women
• world war
• World War One
• World War Two
• World War Three

Origin

• From Middle English werre, from Late Old English werre, wyrre from Old Northern French werre (compare Old French guerre, whence modern French guerre), from Medieval Latin werra, from Frankish *werru, from Proto-Indo-European *wers- ("to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh"). Displaced native Old English ġewinn.
• Akin to Old High German werra ("confusion, strife, quarrel") (German verwirren), Old Saxon werran ("to confuse, perplex"), Dutch war ("confusion, disarray"), West Frisian war,
• Old English wyrsa ("worse"), Old Norse verri ("worse") (originally "confounded, mixed up"). There may be a connection with worse, wurst.