declare war
Appearance
English
[edit]Verb
[edit]declare war (third-person singular simple present declares war, present participle declaring war, simple past and past participle declared war)
- (of a governmental authority) To make a formal pronouncement, or sign a legal document, that initiates a state of war between one nation and another, usually before hostilities begin.
- 2007, Carlos Ramirez-Faria, Concise Encyclopaedia of World History:
- Germany declared war on France, who reciprocated, on August 3 [1939], and England declared war on Germany on August 4, when Belgium was already under invasion.
- (figurative) To announce one's intention to fiercely combat or eradicate something.
- The governor declared war on poverty.
- 2011, Henry Hampton, Steve Fayer, Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement:
- Leo Lillard, a Nashville native attending Tennessee State University, had become involved in the sit-ins as soon as they started. It was no longer just the students, it was clear that the town had declared war on racism.
Translations
[edit]initiate a state of war
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announce one's intention to fiercely combat or eradicate something
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References
[edit]- “declare war”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- “declare war on”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “declare war on”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
- “declare war on”, in Collins English Dictionary.