as in hostilities
a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups
fortunately, the cool relationship between the two nations never escalated into a hot war
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Recent Examples of hot war
There are hot wars in Ukraine and Gaza, cold wars on the Korean peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait, and budding wars in Iran and parts of Africa.
—
Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Instead of fighting hot wars, the United States and its partners should leverage the great strength of the maritime world against the great weakness of the continentalists: their different capacities to generate wealth.
—S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
But American diplomacy — backed up by our military might — is what kept us out of a hot war with the Soviet Union, has prevented war between China and Taiwan, and ended conflict between Egypt and Israel, to name a few.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2025
The performative exchange of military strikes between Iran and the US means that a nuclear tipped hot war in the Middle East is off the cards for the moment, though the bad news is that a far greater crisis awaits.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Instead of fighting hot wars, the United States and its partners should leverage the great strength of the maritime world against the great weakness of the continentalists: their different capacities to generate wealth.
—S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
But American diplomacy — backed up by our military might — is what kept us out of a hot war with the Soviet Union, has prevented war between China and Taiwan, and ended conflict between Egypt and Israel, to name a few.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2025
The performative exchange of military strikes between Iran and the US means that a nuclear tipped hot war in the Middle East is off the cards for the moment, though the bad news is that a far greater crisis awaits.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hot war
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot war
hostilities
Noun
-
The president did send a letter to Congress, just to recap, saying that hostilities have been terminated, given the ceasefire that was put in place on April 7th.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
3 May 2026
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The Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) estimates Ukraine’s broader recovery and defense-sector development potential over the decade after hostilities cease at $690 billion.—
David Szondy
May 02,
New Atlas,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hot war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20war. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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