Meanings
- uncountableA form of warfare that blends both conventional warfare and irregular warfare, such as cyberwarfare, economic warfare, information warfare, psychological warfare and terrorism using either paramilitary or insurgents.
the changing character of conflict from conventional to irregular and hybrid warfare.
2009, Patrick M. Cronin, Global Strategic Assessment 2009: America’s Security Role in a Changing World, NDU Press, page 23 more examples
Some, however, have recently added a single intermediate category of “hybrid warfare”: […]. The notion of “hybrid” war makes a valuable contribution in breaking down unhelpful dichotomies between “conventional” and “guerrilla,” and is a clear and important step in the right direction.
2008, Stephen Biddle, Jeffrey A. Friedman, “The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy”, in Strategic Studies Institute, page 28Entities using IW [irregular warfare] flout Geneva Convention rules and use nontraditional tools, including weapons of mass destruction, improvised explosive devices, and cyberwar operations. Hybrid warfare is waged using a combination of regular and irregular warfare tools, concepts, and doctrines.
2013, Jacquelyn K. Davis, Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Anticipating a Nuclear Iran: Challenges for U.S. Security, →ISBN, page 200The US state department said it was “incredibly” concerned about Russia’s campaign of hybrid warfare against the west, amid fears it will escalate following Ukraine’s first use of US-made long-range missiles on targets inside Russia, after the Biden administration lifted restrictions on their use.
2024 November 19, Andrew Roth, Shaun Walker, Pjotr Sauer, “US and Europe fear escalation of Russian hybrid warfare amid Ukraine missile attacks”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Translations
Bulgarian хибридна война
- хибридна война (hibridna vojna)warfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Catalan guerra híbrida
- guerra híbridawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Chinese Mandarin 混合戰 /混合战
- 混合戰 /混合战 (hùnhézhàn)warfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Czech hybridní válka
- hybridní válkawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Dutch hybride oorlogsvoering
- hybride oorlogsvoeringwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Estonian hübriidsõda
- hübriidsõdawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Finnish hybridisodankäynti
- hybridisodankäyntiwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
French guerre hybride
- guerre hybridewarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
German hybride Kriegsführung, Hybridkrieg
- hybride Kriegsführungwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
- Hybridkriegwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Greek υβριδικός πόλεμος
- υβριδικός πόλεμος (yvridikós pólemos)warfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Icelandic fjölþáttahernaður
- fjölþáttahernaðurwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Indonesian perang hibrida
- perang hibridawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Italian guerra ibrida
- guerra ibridawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Japanese ハイブリッド戦争
- ハイブリッド戦争warfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Korean 하이브리드 전쟁
- 하이브리드 전쟁 (haibeurideu jeonjaeng)warfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Norwegian hybridkrigføring
- hybridkrigføringwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Persian جنگ ترکیبی
- جنگ ترکیبیwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Polish wojna hybrydowa
- wojna hybrydowawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Romanian război hibrid
- război hibridwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Russian гибри́дная война́
- гибри́дная война́ (gibrídnaja vojná)warfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Slovak hybridná vojna
- hybridná vojnawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Spanish guerra híbrida
- guerra híbridawarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Swedish hybridkrigföring
- hybridkrigföringwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Thai การสงครามผสมผสาน
- การสงครามผสมผสานwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Turkish hibrit savaş
- hibrit savaşwarfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Ukrainian гібри́дна війна́
- гібри́дна війна́ (hibrýdna vijná)warfare that blends conventional warfare and irregular warfare
Cite this entry
hybrid warfare. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hybrid%20warfare
“hybrid warfare.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hybrid%20warfare. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hybrid warfare,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hybrid%20warfare.
Source: hybrid warfare on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.