warfare
Americannoun
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the process of military struggle between two nations or groups of nations; war.
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armed conflict between two massed enemies, armies, or the like.
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conflict, especially when vicious and unrelenting, between competitors, political rivals, etc.
noun
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the act, process, or an instance of waging war
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conflict, struggle, or strife
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of warfare
1425–75; late Middle English werefare, i.e., a faring forth to war; see war 1, fare
Explanation
When two countries fight violently with each other, the conflict is called warfare. Whenever a group engages in war or violence, it can be described with the noun warfare, which is another way of saying "the act of war." Terrorists might use guerrilla warfare tactics against their enemies, and governments may resort to warfare to put down revolutions. The word war originally comes from a Germanic root, werso, which means "to perplex or confuse."
Vocabulary lists containing warfare
Mesopotamia - Introductory
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"Culture Clash"
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Mesopotamia - Middle School and High School
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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.
"These immune cells unleash chemical warfare against a pathogen, and organisms have evolved an elegant way of protecting healthy cells at the same time."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
The Pentagon’s Project Meridian is tasked with studying the future of warfare, including what conflict underground or in space could look like.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
That’s especially true if it’s restructured as U.S. investment in missile defense, counterdrone tech and subterranean warfare, as well as AI, quantum and the like.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Howell said North Korea "basically has a state-run cyber warfare agency", which it uses "to fund its weapons of mass destruction programmes" and as a "slush fund" for its leader Kim Jong Un's regime.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The transformation of warfare by horses began with their domestication around 4000 B.C., in the steppes north of the Black Sea.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
