noun
-
an agreement to stop fighting, esp temporarily
-
temporary cessation of something unpleasant
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
- truceless adjective
Etymology
Origin of truce
1175–1225; Middle English trewes, plural of trewe, Old English trēow belief, pledge, treaty. See trow
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.
Stock-market investors were acting boldly Wednesday, but that’s in sharp contrast to the early hours of the fragile truce.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
That could lift hopes of interest-rate cuts and end selling of reserves by central banks – so long as the truce lasts.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
But analysts warn that a huge degree of uncertainty remains, and that the truce is fragile.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Even if a firmer truce were to take hold, shipping companies and port operators would need to see safer conditions in order to transit the strait and re-enter the region.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
All in all, it was a long-standing and uneasy truce where both sides complained while maintaining a grudging tolerance.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
