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warmonger

American  
[wawr-mong-ger, -muhng-] / ˈwɔrˌmɒŋ gər, -ˌmʌŋ- /

noun

  1. a person who advocates, endorses, or tries to precipitate war.


warmonger British  
/ ˈwɔːˌmʌŋɡə /

noun

  1. a person who fosters warlike ideas or advocates war

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • warmongering noun

Etymology

Origin of warmonger

First recorded in 1580–90; war 1 + monger

Explanation

A warmonger is someone strongly pro-war. Warmongers favor war above all other options. Words with monger in them usually refer to people who sell or promote something, like how a fishmonger sells fish. A warmonger is someone who is constantly promoting war: they always want to invade or attack another country, and they're very loud and persistent. This word is usually an insult, because it suggests the person wants war regardless of the cost and even if it isn't the best option.

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Vocabulary lists containing warmonger

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.

But Chinese authorities and state media have heaped bitter rhetoric against him, calling him a "troublemaker" and "warmonger".

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

LONDON—When Spotify founder Daniel Ek in 2021 announced he was investing more than $100 million in European defense-tech startup Helsing, musicians and streamers across the continent slammed the Swedish entrepreneur as a warmonger.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

Bismarck was a cacophony of contradictions: an autocrat who fostered democracy, a fierce Prussian who promoted German nationalism, an ultraconservative who courted socialists, a warmonger who mastered diplomacy.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2022

I was 13 in 1963, a little warmonger who gobbled up books about P.O.W. camp escapes and Air Force derring-do.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2020

He was describing the boardroom confrontation with the man who called him a warmonger.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan