1
: military operations between enemies : hostilities, war
also
: an activity undertaken by a political unit (such as a nation) to weaken or destroy another
economic warfare
2
: struggle between competing entities : conflict
see also biological warfare, chemical warfare, cyber warfare, germ warfare, psychological warfare, trench warfare
Synonyms
Examples of warfare in a Sentence
that troubled household seems to be almost constantly in a state of warfare
companies engaged in constant warfare for dominance in the market for smart phones and tablets
Recent Examples on the Web
In the calculus of modern warfare and international law, killing a civilian is not necessarily a crime.
—
Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
Defense stocks have typically been excluded from portfolios based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors due to ethical concerns over their association with warfare.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2024
Ukraine’s lightning advance is another example of their forces’ dexterity and mobility in warfare, over Moscow’s preference for slow, months-long grinding attacks on the same place.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 13 Aug. 2024
Climate change, cybersecurity attacks, and nuclear warfare threaten our nation’s—and the entire world’s—future.
—Rachel Foxman, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for warfare 
Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
Defense stocks have typically been excluded from portfolios based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors due to ethical concerns over their association with warfare.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2024
Ukraine’s lightning advance is another example of their forces’ dexterity and mobility in warfare, over Moscow’s preference for slow, months-long grinding attacks on the same place.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 13 Aug. 2024
Climate change, cybersecurity attacks, and nuclear warfare threaten our nation’s—and the entire world’s—future.
—Rachel Foxman, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for warfare
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'warfare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near warfare
Cite this Entry
“Warfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warfare. Accessed 22 Sep. 2024.
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warfare
noun
war·fare
ˈwȯr-ˌfa(ə)r 
-ˌfe(ə)r
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