Synonyms

at war

Idioms

Engaged in armed conflict; also, in a state of disagreement. This term may be used literally, usually of nations or smaller groups engaged in armed hostilities, as well as hyperbolically, describing a mild disagreement as “war,” and figuratively, for an inner conflict. For example, The Greeks and Turks have been at war for many years (literally); The two families were at war about the bill for the wedding reception (hyperbolic); and, as Shakespeare put it in Measure for Measure (2:2): “I am at war 'twixt will and will not” (inner conflict of indecision). [Late 1300s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

South Korea has mounted a concerted push to build bridges with Pyongyang under President Lee Jae Myung, who has sought the "peaceful coexistence" of two nations still technically at war.

From Barron's

It is under extreme financial and economic pressure, and it is at war with its own people.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Tuesday, the U.K.’s armed-forces minister, Alistair Carns, said Russia had been at war longer than in World War II and lost over 4,000 tanks, 10,000 armed vehicles and had its navy arguably destroyed by a country that never had a navy.

From The Wall Street Journal

North and South Korea are still technically at war because the 1950–53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

From Barron's

"We are at war. We work in any weather."

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023