-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
holy war
noun
: a war or violent campaign waged often by religious extremists for what is considered to be a holy purpose
Examples of holy war in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Contributors there continue to employ the language of holy war.
—Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 15 May 2024
But as the movie progresses, Lady Jessica increasingly serves only to deliver communiqués to Paul from his unborn sister, who seems way more concerned with his reluctance to start an interstellar holy war than, say, the development of her own limbs.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Paul knows from his own dreams that this sparked holy war he's just started will kill billions (with a B) of people.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024
In Herbert’s novel, and Denis Villeneuve's 2021 Dune, Paul is reluctant to kick off the holy war to end all holy wars.
—Max Evry, WIRED, 10 Jan. 2024
American author and journalist Andy Ngo reported on X, formerly Twitter, about protesters at the Hizb ut-Tahrir rally who urged a Muslim holy war against the Jewish state.
—Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 23 Oct. 2023
In March, 2022, the Pope and two Vatican advisers in interchurch relations met via Zoom with Kirill—a Putin loyalist who has characterized the invasion as a holy war—and two Russian Orthodox officials.
—Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 25 July 2023
Religious leaders endorsed by the state presented the fight against Hitler as a holy war, blending Islamic devotion with Soviet patriotism.
—Jeff Eden, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
Timimi preached that the Sept. 11 attacks portended a global holy war between Muslims and non-believers.
—Matthew Barakat, Star Tribune, 18 Aug. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'holy war.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1639, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near holy war
Cite this Entry
“Holy war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holy%20war. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
holy war
noun
: a war or violent campaign carried on for what is considered a holy purpose
More from Merriam-Webster on holy war
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for holy war
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about holy war
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share