truce

[troos]

noun

1. a suspension of hostilities for a specified period of time by mutual agreement of the warring parties; cease-fire; armistice.

2. an agreement or treaty establishing this.

3. a temporary respite, as from trouble or pain.

   Synonyms: stay, rest, pause, lull

truce

/ truːs /

noun

1. an agreement to stop fighting, esp temporarily

2. temporary cessation of something unpleasant

Other Word Forms

• truceless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of truce¹

1175–1225; Middle English trewes, plural of trewe, Old English trēow belief, pledge, treaty. See trow

Word History and Origins

Origin of truce¹

C13: from the plural of Old English treow _trow ; see _true , _trust

Example Sentences

In that case, it was another eight months before Israel and Hamas implemented a truce and hostage and prisoner exchange.

From BBC

The report declares that a truce is necessary in the so-called math wars.

From Los Angeles Times

Top level trade delegations from Beijing and Washington last met in Sweden in July, where they extended their tariffs truce by another 90 days.

From BBC

A "truce" was later called between the men following a meeting at a bookmaker's in 2017.

From BBC

Regional mediators have presented a proposal that would see 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages released during a 60-day truce.

From BBC

Related Words

• accord 
• agreement 
• amnesty 
• armistice 
• cease-fire 
• détente 
• lull 
• moratorium 
• pause 
• peace 
• reconciliation 
• reprieve 
• suspension 

When To Use

What does truce mean?

A truce is a stoppage of fighting between two or more people or sides in a conflict, especially a temporary one.The agreement, or treaty, that establishes such a stoppage can also be called a truce. When used in the context of military conflicts, a truce is often temporary and set for a specified period of time.Truce can also be used casually to refer to an agreement between two or more people to stop arguing or engaging in some less serious form of conflict, like a pillow fight (not that pillow fights can’t get pretty intense).Example: I realized the bad blood between me and Taylor was really petty, so we both decided to call a truce.