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at war
Idioms and Phrases
Engaged in armed conflict; also, in a state of disagreement. This term may be used literally, usually of nations or smaller groups engaged in armed hostilities, as well as hyperbolically, describing a mild disagreement as “war,” and figuratively, for an inner conflict. For example, The Greeks and Turks have been at war for many years (literally); The two families were at war about the bill for the wedding reception (hyperbolic); and, as Shakespeare put it in Measure for Measure (2:2): “I am at war 'twixt will and will not” (inner conflict of indecision). [Late 1300s]Example Sentences
The country was still at war with Japan on the Pacific front for several more months after conflict ended in Europe.
Of course, we are not at war with Venezuela; the entire assumption is absurd, and the fact that our legal system has been dancing around it for months now is frustrating.
We are not at war with Venezuela or any country.
He invoked the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century law that allows for the deportation of citizens from foreign countries that are at war with the United States.
The U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, but Trump danced around this by claiming that the gang Tren de Aragua was a sovereign nation that was invading the country.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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