Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
War \War\, n. [OE. & AS. werre; akin to OHG. werra scandal, quarrel, sedition, werran to confound, mix, D. warren, G. wirren, verwirren, to embroil, confound, disturb, and perhaps to E. worse; cf. OF. werre war, F. querre, of Teutonic origin. Cf. Guerrilla, Warrior.]
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A contest between nations or states, carried on by force, whether for defence, for revenging insults and redressing wrongs, for the extension of commerce, for the acquisition of territory, for obtaining and establishing the superiority and dominion of one over the other, or for any other purpose; armed conflict of sovereign powers; declared and open hostilities.
Men will ever distinguish war from mere bloodshed.
--F. W. Robertson.Note: As war is the contest of nations or states, it always implies that such contest is authorized by the monarch or the sovereign power of the nation. A war begun by attacking another nation, is called an offensive war, and such attack is aggressive. War undertaken to repel invasion, or the attacks of an enemy, is called defensive.
(Law) A condition of belligerency to be maintained by physical force. In this sense, levying war against the sovereign authority is treason.
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Instruments of war. [Poetic]
His complement of stores, and total war.
--Prior. -
Forces; army. [Poetic]
On their embattled ranks the waves return, And overwhelm their war.
--Milton. -
The profession of arms; the art of war.
Thou art but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.
--1 Sam. xvii. 33. -
a state of opposition or contest; an act of opposition; an inimical contest, act, or action; enmity; hostility. ``Raised impious war in heaven.''
--Milton.The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart.
--Ps. lv. 21.Civil war, a war between different sections or parties of the same country or nation.
Holy war. See under Holy.
Man of war. (Naut.) See in the Vocabulary.
Public war, a war between independent sovereign states.
War cry, a cry or signal used in war; as, the Indian war cry.
War dance, a dance among savages preliminary to going to war. Among the North American Indians, it is begun by some distinguished chief, and whoever joins in it thereby enlists as one of the party engaged in a warlike excursion.
--Schoolcraft.War field, a field of war or battle.
War horse, a horse used in war; the horse of a cavalry soldier; especially, a strong, powerful, spirited horse for military service; a charger.
War paint, paint put on the face and other parts of the body by savages, as a token of going to war. ``Wash the war paint from your faces.''
--Longfellow.War song, a song of or pertaining to war; especially, among the American Indians, a song at the war dance, full of incitements to military ardor.
War whoop, a war cry, especially that uttered by the American Indians.
Wiktionary
n. An exclamation intended to rally soldiers in battle.
WordNet
n. a slogan used to rally support for a cause; "a cry to arms"; "our watchword will be `democracy'" [syn: rallying cry, battle cry, cry, watchword]
a yell intended to rally a group of soldiers in battle [syn: war whoop, rallying cry, battle cry]
Usage examples of "war cry".
He yelled a Solamnic war cry as he and his Silver dived down upon the hapless defenders, not because he thought they would hear him, but for the sheer joy of the flight and the sight of his enemy fleeing before him in screaming panic.
His blood suddenly stirred with eagerness, and he wanted to shout some kind of war cry, hurl some fierce defiance at the Despiser.
His axe was high, but his war cry gave the drow time to roll away from the worst of the attack.
The huge Baenre contingent raised a fierce war cry of their own, and dashed forward to seize the pass before any more duergar could flood through it.
Houndaer shouted a war cry, ran a final stride, and swung the greatsword.
Ryld bellowed a war cry, sprang at them, and struck them down before they could do any more damage.
Four centuries ago the same war cry had rung out behind the banners of Gustav Adolf, the Lion of the North, on battlefields from the Baltic to the Danube, from Russia to France.
The appearance of the sullanciri, the revelation of Rym Ramoch as a puppet, the spear, the sharp war cry of a furious Gyrkyme, the rubys glittering arc as it spun through the air, and Wills dive all left Kerrigan stunned mindless.
Hulagur had dragged out the body of the helmeted man and the Mongols were stripping off his equipment, smashing it with rocks, still howling their war cry.
And so it was that he burst into the sunlight, screaming his own war cry and waving his sabre like a madman as the fourth arrow flight screamed overhead.
Another Raider seemed to trip in mid-air as his head blew apart, and the high-pitched scream of Clan Zarthan's war cry split the madness as Kthaara emptied a full magazine into the bunker slit from which the fire had come.
It had been a long time since he had heard this triumphant male baying, the war cry of a submarine.
The huge warrior met the creatures head on with a war cry that made one demon falter slightly.
The Southern vanguard was made up of Texans, tall, strong, tanned men, led by the impetuous Hood, and shouting the fierce Southern war cry they rushed straight at the corps of Sickles.
The warrior rushed at Simon, swinging the sword wide to strike, bellowing a brutal war cry as he came.