total war

noun

Warfare where all of a country's available resources, military as well as civilian, are employed.

OriginGerman totaler Krieg →
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Meanings

nountotal war (countable and uncountable, plural total wars)

plural total wars

  1. countableuncountableWarfare where all of a country's available resources, military as well as civilian, are employed.

    In the course of its crisis the young French Republic discovered or invented total war: the total mobilization of a nation's resources through conscription, rationing and a rigidly controlled war economy, and virtual abolition, at home or abroad, of the distinction between soldiers and civilians.

    1962, Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution. 1789-1848, page 67

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hard war

Origin

  1. Germantotaler Krieg
  2. Englishtotal war

Calque of German totaler Krieg, coined by Erich Ludendorff.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic الحَرْب الشَّامِلَة
  • الحَرْب الشَّامِلَة (al-ḥarb aš-šāmila)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Bulgarian тотална война
  • тотална война (totalna vojna)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Catalan guerra total
  • guerra totalwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Chinese Mandarin 總體戰 /总体战
  • 總體戰 /总体战 (zǒngtǐzhàn)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Czech totální válka
  • totální válkawarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Danish total krig
  • total krigwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Dutch totale oorlog
  • totale oorlogwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Esperanto totala milito
  • totala militowarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Finnish totaalinen sota, totaalinen sodankäynti
  • totaalinen sotawarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
  • totaalinen sodankäyntiwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
French guerre totale
  • guerre totalewarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
German totaler Krieg
  • totaler Kriegwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Greek ολοκληρωτικός πόλεμος
  • ολοκληρωτικός πόλεμος (oloklirotikós pólemos)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Hebrew מלחמה כוללת
  • מלחמה כוללת (milkhome kulelet)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Hungarian totális háború
  • totális háborúwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Indonesian perang total
  • perang totalwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Italian guerra totale
  • guerra totalewarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Japanese 国家総力戦, 総力戦
  • 国家総力戦 (kokka-sō-rikisen)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
  • 総力戦 (sōryoku-sen)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Korean 총력전
  • 총력전 (chongnyeokjeon)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Norwegian Bokmål total krig
  • total krigwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Persian جنگ تمامعیار
  • جنگ تمامعیار (jang tamâm ayar)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Polish wojna totalna
  • wojna totalnawarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Portuguese guerra total
  • guerra totalwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Romanian război total
  • război totalwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Russian тотальная война
  • тотальная война (totalʹnaja vojna)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Slovak totálna vojna
  • totálna vojnawarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Spanish guerra total
  • guerra totalwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Swedish total krigföring
  • total krigföringwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Thai สงครามเบ็ดเสร็จ
  • สงครามเบ็ดเสร็จ (sǒng-kraam-bèt-sèt)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Turkish topyekûn savaş
  • topyekûn savaşwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Ukrainian тотальна війна
  • тотальна війна (totalʹna vijna)warfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Vietnamese chiến tranh toàn diện
  • chiến tranh toàn diệnwarfare where all of a country's resources are employed
Cite this entry
APA

total war. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/total%20war

MLA

“total war.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/total%20war. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “total war,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/total%20war.

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