civil wars

noun

plural of civil war
as in wars
a a state or period of fighting between groups of people in the same country a region that has had many civil wars

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Example Sentences

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 civil wars The Tokugawa shogunate had brought a period of civil wars to an end, and during the long, uninterrupted peace under its iron rule there were fewer opportunities for men who had been trained to fight. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 And America’s civil wars in countries like Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and El Salvador. — Daniel Peña, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026 At their height, jihadi groups proved capable of spectacular violence, forming alliances amid civil wars and even seizing territory. — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026 American sentiment was turning against newcomers, whether Vietnamese refugees, Cuban and Haitian boat people, Central Americans fleeing civil wars or Mexicans looking for economic opportunity. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 The United States’ contribution to ending Europe’s two civil wars fostered American confidence and, by the mid-Forties, declarations of an American century. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026 Inside many of Miami’s multiplying condos, civil wars are raging between residents who live there and absentee owners who buy units for investment income. — Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026 Syria, Libya, and Yemen have already endured civil wars and protracted humanitarian crises. — Sarah Yerkes, Time, 10 July 2026 So, the civil wars of the 1640s. — Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil wars
  1. wars
  2. hostilities
  3. conflicts
Noun
  • Erik Prince and his private security teams were contracted by the US government during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, most remembered for Blackwater employees opening fire in Baghdad’s Nusoor Square, killing 17 Iraqi civilians.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The march against wars and rising living costs began peacefully.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of wars
Noun
  • The hostilities began as a month-long student movement over school conditions and teacher shortages in working-class suburbs before broadening into a larger protest movement against inequality, public spending cuts and the rising cost of living.
    — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Although the correlation between daily prices has been insignificant, cotton prices and Brent crude prices have followed a similar general pattern since the outbreak of hostilities around Iran.
    — SJ Guest Editorial, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of hostilities
Noun
  • Although the strategic consequences of their actions may ultimately benefit Iran in its own regional and international conflicts, the Houthis see their military campaign against Saudi Arabia chiefly as an act of national defense.
    — Laurent Bonnefoy, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Many of those executed were arrested in Derna and Benghazi cities during or after conflicts between the LNA and opposing armed groups between 2014 and 2018, according to the Wednesday report.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of conflicts

Browse Nearby Words

civil war
civil wars
civvies
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Cite this Entry

“Civil wars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20wars. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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