war story
noun
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People have been telling stories about real wars since long before Washington Irving wrote the following in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: "folks . . . sat smoking at one end of the piazza, . . . drawing out long stories about the war." But today tellers of "war stories" need not have experienced a literal battlefield. Around the middle of the 19th century, "war story" took on a more figurative meaning, and nowadays such accounts can encompass challenges in the workplace, on the campaign trail, in sports, in one's travels . . . wherever difficulties need to be overcome.
Examples of war story in a Sentence
Danielle Bacher, People.com, 4 July 2025
Directors Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, an ex-soldier whose experience was the basis for the film, put viewers though unflinchingly brutal moments that feel uncannily real and unlike any other war story.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 July 2025
These were British war stories, often written and drawn by real W.W. II veterans, and fans like me accordingly looked down on their fantastical American-superhero counterparts.
—Alexander Rose, Air Mail, 28 June 2025
The war stories in particular, despite being well-acted, are an unnecessary melodramatic distraction.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for war story
Cite this Entry
“War story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war%20story. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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