Meanings
alternative World War 2 · alternative World War Two · alternative abbreviation WWII · alternative abbreviation WW2
- historicalThe war from 1939 to 1945 of the Allied forces, including the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, France, and China, against the Axis Powers, including Germany, Italy, and Japan.
My grandpa fought in World War II He was such a noble dude I can’t even finish school Missed my mom and left too soon
2021 March 26, AJR, “World's Smallest Violin”, in OK Orchestra, US: AJR Productions, BMG Rights Management, →OCLC4 more examples
As students all over the United States knuckle down to learning, the rumble of war drums once more proclaims Mars high man in Europe. Discarding morbid curiosity, every student should consider it vitally necessary to get a general picture of the causes, movements, and possible effects of World War II. The average U. S. citizen's knowledge of World War II will probably decide his role in it.
1939 November 10, “Following The War”, in The Chart, volume I, number 1, Joplin, Missouri: Joplin Junior College, page 4, column 1Nothing since the beginning of World War II, a year ago last September, has boosted British morale or given them greater courage to fight on as has this brilliant Libyan campaign.
1941 March, Frederick M. Barrows, “The War in Africa”, in Command and General Staff School Military Review, volume XXI, number 80, →OCLC, page 23, column 1If Demandt's essay served as a strident example of the German desire for normalcy, a more subtle example was provided by a brief allohistorical depiction of a Nazi victory in World War II written by German historian Michael Salewski in 1999.
2005 May 23, Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, The World Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 182The tiny island of Tinian was the launch point for American planes carrying atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Now a new runway is being carved from the jungle, just south of World War II ruins inked with mildew.
2023 March 25, Damien Cave, “An Anxious Asia Arms for a War It Hopes to Prevent”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2023Synonyms: Second World War
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe war from 1939 to 1945 of the Allied forces, including the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, France, and China, against the Axis Powers, including Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Origin
From world war + two. The term was used for a hypothetical future war as early as 1819. It was first applied to the war in 1939-45 in an article in Time, dated September 11, 1939.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Tweede Wêreldoorlog
- Tweede Wêreldoorlogwar from 1939 to 1945
Arabic الْحَرْبُ الْعَالَمِيَّةُ الثَّانِيَة
- الْحَرْبُ الْعَالَمِيَّةُ الثَّانِيَة (al-ḥarbu l-ʕālamiyyatu ṯ-ṯāniya)war from 1939 to 1945
Basque Bigarren Mundu Gerra
- Bigarren Mundu Gerrawar from 1939 to 1945
Bengali দ্বিতীয় বিশ্বযুদ্ধ
- দ্বিতীয় বিশ্বযুদ্ধ (ditiẏo biśśojuddho)war from 1939 to 1945
Bulgarian вто́ра свето́вна война́
- вто́ра свето́вна война́ (vtóra svetóvna vojná)war from 1939 to 1945
Catalan Segona Guerra Mundial
- Segona Guerra Mundialwar from 1939 to 1945
Chinese Mandarin 第二次世界大戰 /第二次世界大战, 二戰 /二战
- 第二次世界大戰 /第二次世界大战 (Dì-èr Cì Shìjiè Dàzhàn)war from 1939 to 1945
- 二戰 /二战 (Èrzhàn)war from 1939 to 1945
Czech druhá světová válka
- druhá světová válkawar from 1939 to 1945
Danish anden verdenskrig, 2. verdenskrig
- anden verdenskrigwar from 1939 to 1945
- 2. verdenskrigwar from 1939 to 1945
Dutch Tweede Wereldoorlog
- Tweede Wereldoorlogwar from 1939 to 1945
Esperanto Dua Mondmilito
- Dua Mondmilitowar from 1939 to 1945
Estonian Teine maailmasõda
- Teine maailmasõdawar from 1939 to 1945
Finnish toinen maailmansota
- toinen maailmansotawar from 1939 to 1945
French Seconde Guerre mondiale, Deuxième Guerre mondiale
- Seconde Guerre mondialewar from 1939 to 1945
- Deuxième Guerre mondialewar from 1939 to 1945
German Zweiter Weltkrieg
- Zweiter Weltkriegwar from 1939 to 1945
Greek Β΄ Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος, Δεύτερος Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος
- Β΄ Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμοςwar from 1939 to 1945
- Δεύτερος Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος (Défteros Pagkósmios Pólemos)war from 1939 to 1945
Hebrew מִלְחֶמֶת הָעוֹלָם הַשְּׁנִיָּה \ מלחמת העולם השנייה
- מִלְחֶמֶת הָעוֹלָם הַשְּׁנִיָּה \ מלחמת העולם השנייהwar from 1939 to 1945
Hindi द्वितीय विश्वयुद्ध
- द्वितीय विश्वयुद्ध (dvitīya viśvayuddh)war from 1939 to 1945
Hungarian második világháború
- második világháborúwar from 1939 to 1945
Icelandic seinni heimsstyrjöldin, síðari heimsstyrjöldin
- seinni heimsstyrjöldinwar from 1939 to 1945
- síðari heimsstyrjöldinwar from 1939 to 1945
- heimsstyrjöldin síðariwar from 1939 to 1945
Indonesian Perang Dunia Kedua
- Perang Dunia Keduawar from 1939 to 1945
Irish Dara Cogadh Domhanda
- Dara Cogadh Domhandawar from 1939 to 1945
Italian Seconda guerra mondiale
- Seconda guerra mondialewar from 1939 to 1945
Japanese 第二次世界大戦, 第2次世界大戦
- 第二次世界大戦war from 1939 to 1945
- 第2次世界大戦 (Dainiji Sekai Taisen)war from 1939 to 1945
Korean 제2차 세계 대전, 제이차 세계 대전
- 제2차 세계 대전war from 1939 to 1945
- 제이차 세계 대전 (Jeicha segye daejeon)war from 1939 to 1945
Latin secundum bellum mundiale, secundum bellum mundanum
- secundum bellum mundialewar from 1939 to 1945
- secundum bellum mundanumwar from 1939 to 1945
Latvian Otrais pasaules karš
- Otrais pasaules karšwar from 1939 to 1945
Lithuanian Antrasis pasaulinis karas
- Antrasis pasaulinis karaswar from 1939 to 1945
Malay Perang Dunia Kedua
- Perang Dunia Keduawar from 1939 to 1945
Māori Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao
- Pakanga Tuarua o te Aowar from 1939 to 1945
Norwegian Bokmål andre verdenskrig
- andre verdenskrigwar from 1939 to 1945
Polish druga wojna światowa, II wojna światowa
- druga wojna światowawar from 1939 to 1945
- II wojna światowawar from 1939 to 1945
Portuguese Segunda Guerra Mundial
- Segunda Guerra Mundialwar from 1939 to 1945
Romanian Al Doilea Război Mondial
- Al Doilea Război Mondialwar from 1939 to 1945
Russian Втора́я мирова́я война́
- Втора́я мирова́я война́ (Vtorája mirovája vojná)war from 1939 to 1945
Scottish Gaelic Dara Cogadh Mòr
- Dara Cogadh Mòrwar from 1939 to 1945
Slovak druhá svetová vojna
- druhá svetová vojnawar from 1939 to 1945
Spanish Segunda Guerra Mundial
- Segunda Guerra Mundialwar from 1939 to 1945
Swahili Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia
- Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Duniawar from 1939 to 1945
Swedish andra världskriget
- andra världskrigetwar from 1939 to 1945
Tagalog Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig
- Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdigwar from 1939 to 1945
Tamil இரண்டாம் உலகப் போர்
- இரண்டாம் உலகப் போர் (iraṇṭām ulakap pōr)war from 1939 to 1945
Thai สงครามโลกครั้งที่สอง
- สงครามโลกครั้งที่สอง (sǒng-kraam-lôok-kráng-tîi-sɔ̌ɔng)war from 1939 to 1945
Turkish İkinci Dünya Savaşı, 2. Dünya Savaşı
- İkinci Dünya Savaşıwar from 1939 to 1945
- 2. Dünya Savaşıwar from 1939 to 1945
Ukrainian Дру́га світова́ війна́
- Дру́га світова́ війна́ (Drúha svitová vijná)war from 1939 to 1945
Urdu جَن٘گِ عَظِیمِ دُوَم, دُوسْری عالَمی جَن٘گ
- جَن٘گِ عَظِیمِ دُوَم (jaṅg-i 'azīm-i duvam)war from 1939 to 1945
- دُوسْری عالَمی جَن٘گ (dūsrī 'ālamī jaṅg)war from 1939 to 1945
Vietnamese Chiến tranh thế giới thứ hai, Đệ nhị thế chiến
- Chiến tranh thế giới thứ haiwar from 1939 to 1945
- Đệ nhị thế chiếnwar from 1939 to 1945
Welsh yr Ail Ryfel Byd
- yr Ail Ryfel Bydwar from 1939 to 1945
Yiddish צווייטע וועלט מלחמה
- צווייטע וועלט מלחמה (tsveyte velt milkhome)war from 1939 to 1945
Cite this entry
World War II. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/World%20War%20II
“World War II.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/World%20War%20II. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “World War II,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/World%20War%20II.
Source: World War II on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.