cold war

[ kohld-wawr ]

/ ˈkoʊld ˈwɔr /

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noun

intense economic, political, military, and ideological rivalry between nations, short of military conflict; sustained hostile political policies and an atmosphere of strain between opposed countries.

a continuing state of resentful antagonism between two parties short of open hostility or violence.

(initial capital letters) rivalry after World War II between the Soviet Union and its satellites and the democratic countries of the Western world, under the leadership of the United States.

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Words nearby cold war

cold tone, cold turkey, cold type, cold ulcer, cold wall effect, cold war, cold warrior, cold-water, cold-water flat, cold wave, cold-weld

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

How to use cold war in a sentence

The cold war radio extremists hit their listeners with a hammer of information.
Restoring the Fairness Doctrine can’t prevent another Rush Limbaugh|Heather Hendershot|February 19, 2021|Washington Post
Reading list“Trump-McConnell clash threatens to settle into a cold war as GOP eyes midterms,” by Mike DeBonis and Josh DawseyAn acquitted president goes after his acquitter.
The Trailer: The House Democrats’ campaign chief thinks his party can defy history|David Weigel|February 18, 2021|Washington Post
A “techonomic cold war” is already under way—an ongoing, often-invisible state of conflict at the intersection of technology and geopolitics.
The fragmentation of everything|Martha Leibs|December 4, 2020|MIT Technology Review
If we set ourselves up for a new cold war and there’s no ability to monitor actual events in China, I think we could very well miss opportunities to have better outcomes in the long term.
The human cost of a WeChat ban: severing a hundred million ties|Karen Hao|August 13, 2020|MIT Technology Review

That’s gotten us to a bad point where, as we’ve noted, the bipartisan fusion consensus now is that we’re in a great power competition, a cold war with China.
Will Covid-19 Spark a Cold War (or Worse) With China? (Ep. 414)|Stephen J. Dubner|April 23, 2020|Freakonomics
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
This is comedy based on a cold humor, detached, euphemistic, devoid of any generosity.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We indulge in expensive cold-pressed juices and SoulCycle classes, justifying these purchases as investments in our health.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|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
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
Madame de Condillac stood watching him, her face composed, her glance cold.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
"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)
Being quieted by the Captain with a draught of cold tea, and made to sit down, the examination of the book proceeded.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for cold war

cold war

noun

a state of political hostility and military tension between two countries or power blocs, involving propaganda, subversion, threats, economic sanctions, and other measures short of open warfare, esp that between the American and Soviet blocs after World War II (the Cold War)

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

Cultural definitions for cold war

cold war

A constant nonviolent state of hostility between the Soviet Union and the United States. The cold war began shortly after World War II, with the rapid extension of Soviet influence over eastern Europe and North Korea. With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the cold war ended. (See Berlin airlift, Berlin wall (see also Berlin wall), and Iron Curtain.)

cold war

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British Dictionary definitions for cold war

Cultural definitions for cold war