act of war
Americannoun
noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Hybrid warfare" is when a hostile state carries out an anonymous, deniable attack, usually in highly suspicious circumstances, but stops short of being an attributable act of war.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
After a ceasefire, Modi vowed that "any attack on Indian soil will be considered as an act of war".
From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025
Since a blockade is an act of war against an enemy state, China would call its action something else, such as a quarantine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the act of war that forced this country into war against Japan and, after the Nazi regime allied itself with Japan, war with Germany as well.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2024
“Are you suggesting I commit an act of war because this man has a hot line to the spirit world?”
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
