act of war

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noun

an act of aggression by a country against another with which it is nominally at peace.

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Words nearby act of war

act of contrition, act of faith, act of God, Act of Toleration, Act of Uniformity, act of war, actomyosin, acton, act one's age, actor, actorish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use act of war in a sentence

They are, to say the least, preparing for civil war (the polling stations are stormed by armed gangs).
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But what is there more irresponsible than playing with the fire of an imagined civil war in the France of today?
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Cold War fears could be manipulated through misleading art to attract readers to daunting material.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Kennedy: "Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind."
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

It is not a decisive war, with a single, signature victory, but a war of attrition.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He distinguished himself in several campaigns, especially in the Peninsular war, and was raised to the rank of field marshal.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
His 6,000 native auxiliaries (as it proved later on) could not be relied upon in a civil war.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
"There is no more war," Brion translated for Ulv, realizing that the Disan had understood nothing of the explanation.
Sense of Obligation|Henry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)
He caught himself in the act of listening to you too credulously—and that seemed to him unmanly and dishonorable.
Confidence|Henry James
I cannot reconcile the idea of a tender Heavenly Father with the known horrors of war, slavery, pestilence, and insanity.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford

British Dictionary definitions for act of war

act of war

noun

an aggressive act, usually employing military force, which constitutes an immediate threat to peace

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012