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, trench warfare
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
An increase in the drone supply—in addition to their effectiveness in combat operations—is reflective of a strategic adaptation by NATO to new forms of warfare that increasingly rely on unmanned systems.
—
Shane Croucher
john Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
This conflict, ensnared in trench warfare, is reminiscent of the battlefields of Europe in World War I, where the machine gun and tank notably became revolutions in military affairs; the small drone is this generation’s change to modern warfare.
—Bill Edwards, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
The immediate incentive for our nation to enter that war was the declaration by Germany of unrestricted submarine warfare.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2025
Their disappearance caused an uproar in Tamaulipas, a state long eclipsed by cartel warfare.
—Arkansas Online, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for warfare
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Shane Croucher
john Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
This conflict, ensnared in trench warfare, is reminiscent of the battlefields of Europe in World War I, where the machine gun and tank notably became revolutions in military affairs; the small drone is this generation’s change to modern warfare.
—Bill Edwards, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
The immediate incentive for our nation to enter that war was the declaration by Germany of unrestricted submarine warfare.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2025
Their disappearance caused an uproar in Tamaulipas, a state long eclipsed by cartel warfare.
—Arkansas Online, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for warfare
Cite this Entry
“Warfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warfare. Accessed 8 Jun. 2025.
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warfare
noun
war·fare
ˈwȯr-ˌfa(ə)r 
-ˌfe(ə)r
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