HOT WARS Synonyms: 26 Similar and Opposite Words

hot wars

noun

plural of hot war

as in hostilities

a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups fortunately, the cool relationship between the two nations never escalated into a hot war

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hot wars There are hot wars in Ukraine and Gaza, cold wars on the Korean peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait, and budding wars in Iran and parts of Africa. — Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot wars

Noun

Brent’s price zigzagged between $72 and $102 last month as hopes rose and fell that the United States and Iran could reach an agreement to end hostilities and the threat to oil tankers in the strait.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
The administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, argued the war was over with a ceasefire and that hostilities then resumed.

— Bart Jansen, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of hostilities

Noun

Netanyahu and Erdogan have a long-running public feud, which intensified dramatically during the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

— Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
This came out in 2012, in that awkward growing-pains stage between the early post-teenybopper rebellion of Can’t Be Tamed and the suffocating culture wars of Bangerz.

— Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of wars

Noun

The players air their grievances, which are essentially a pile of petty conflicts and resentments that, as Alice warned, can be traced back to the team fracturing into cliques.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Mia Wasikowska perfectly embodies the role of Agata, a writer returning to her home continent, seeking to understand and reconnect with the wounds of the recent past, and with the ways in which unresolved conflicts continue to echo in the present.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of conflicts

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hot war

hot wars

hot water

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“Hot wars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot%20wars. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of hot wars

noun

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