limited war

American  

noun

1. a war conducted with less than a nation's total resources and restricted in aim to less than total defeat of the enemy.

2. a war restricted to a relatively small area of the world and involving few warring nations.

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limited war British  

noun

1. a war in which the belligerents do not seek the total destruction of the enemy, esp one in which nuclear weapons are deliberately not used

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Etymology

Origin of limited war

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

limited war

The war against Iran has been a limited war, and its outcome is likely to be inconclusive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

In 1999, the two countries fought a limited war in Kargil.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2022

Korea was frustrating in part because, like Ukraine, it was a limited war.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 2, 2022

After becoming interested in theories of deterrence and limited war, he decided that nuclear strategy lent itself to his evolving ideas about bargaining and game theory.

From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2016

It is that limited war permits the use of the defensive without its usual drawbacks to a degree that is impossible in unlimited war.

From Some Principles of Maritime Strategy by Corbett, Julian S. (Julian Stafford)