STATE OF WAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does state of war mean? 

• STATE OF WAR (noun)
  The noun STATE OF WAR has 1 sense:

1. a legal state created by a declaration of war and ended by official declaration during which the international rules of war apply

  Familiarity information: STATE OF WAR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STATE OF WAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A legal state created by a declaration of war and ended by official declaration during which the international rules of war apply

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

state of war; war

Context example:

war was declared in November but actual fighting did not begin until the following spring

Hypernyms ("state of war" is a kind of...):

antagonism; enmity; hostility (a state of deep-seated ill-will)

Domain category:

war; warfare (the waging of armed conflict against an enemy)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "state of war"):

proxy war (a war instigated by a major power that does not itself participate)