pre-war

UK/pɹiːˈwɔː/US/pɹiˈwɔɹ/

adjective

Before the most recent or significant war in a culture's history.

Similar
antebellum
Opposite
post-war
OriginEnglish war ← Middle English werre ← Old English werre →
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Meanings

adjectivepre-war (not comparable)

alternative prewar

  1. Before a war.
    1. not comparableBefore the most recent or significant war in a culture's history.
    2. not comparableBefore the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
    3. not comparableBefore the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

      The hanging-bowl lampshade in marbled glass was two decades pre-war – the kind that marked out aged people.

      1998, Derek Beaven, chapter 9, in Acts of Mutiny, London: Fourth Estate, →ISBN, part 1 (Motion), page 34
    4. not comparableEspecially pre-war architecture: buildings (particularly in and around New York) built between 1900 and about 1940.
    5. not comparableBetween the end of World War I in 1918 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939; interwar, especially Weimar Republic Germany.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
antebellum
Opposite
post-war
Also see
antebelluminterwar

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*wers-
  10. Proto-Germanic*werzaną
  11. Proto-West Germanic*werʀan
  12. Frankish*werʀ
  13. Early Medieval Latinwerra
  14. Old Northern Frenchguerre
  15. Old Englishwerre
  16. Middle Englishwerre
  17. Englishwar
  18. Englishpre-war

From pre- + war.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 戰前 /战前
  • 戰前 /战前 (zhànqián)Before a war
Czech předválečný
  • předválečnýBefore a war
Finnish sotaa edeltävä
  • sotaa edeltäväBefore a war
French d'avant-guerre
  • d'avant-guerreBefore a war
German Vorkriegs-, vorkrieglich
  • Vorkriegs-Before a war
  • vorkrieglichBefore a war
Hungarian háború előtti
  • háború előttiBefore a war
Italian prebellico, antebellico
  • prebellicoBefore a war
  • antebellicoBefore a war
Latvian pirmskara
  • pirmskaraBefore a war
Polish przedwojenny
  • przedwojennyBefore a war
Russian довое́нный, предвое́нный
  • довое́нный (dovojénnyj)Before a war
  • предвое́нный (predvojénnyj)Before a war
Slovak predvojnový
  • predvojnovýBefore a war
Tagalog dipa-digma
  • dipa-digmaBefore a war
Ukrainian довоє́нний, передвоє́нний
  • довоє́нний (dovojénnyj)Before a war
  • передвоє́нний (peredvojénnyj)Before a war
Cite this entry
APA

pre-war. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-war

MLA

“pre-war.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-war. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pre-war,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-war.

Source: pre-war on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.