Meanings
nounwarfare (usually uncountable, plural warfares)
plural warfares
- uncountableusuallyMilitary operations of some particular kind e.g. guerrilla warfare.
- figurativelyuncountableusuallystruggle, competition
Vows, promises, protestations, disclaimers of purposes pursued; and all the gentle and ungentle pressures of the lover's warfare.
1748, Richardson, Samuel, Clarissa; or, The history of a young lady, comprehending the most important concerns of private life, 1st edition, volume 5
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishwerre-faringe
- Englishwarfare
From war + fare; perhaps a shortening of Middle English werre-faringe, werfarynge (“waging war, warfare”, literally “going to war”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian вою́ване, вое́нна опера́ция
- вою́ване (vojúvane)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- вое́нна опера́ция (voénna operácija)military operations of some particular kind
- вое́нни де́йствия (voénni déjstvija)military operations of some particular kind
Chinese Mandarin 戰爭 /战争, 鬥爭 /斗争
- 戰爭 /战争 (zhànzhēng)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- 鬥爭 /斗争 (dòuzhēng)military operations of some particular kind
Danish krigsførelse, -krig
- krigsførelsethe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- -krigmilitary operations of some particular kind
- krigsførelse (examples: luftkrig/søkrig)military operations of some particular kind
Dutch krijgsvoering, oorlogvoering
- krijgsvoeringthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- oorlogvoeringthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- strijdthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- krijgsvoeringmilitary operations of some particular kind
- oorlogvoeringmilitary operations of some particular kind
- strijdmilitary operations of some particular kind
Esperanto militado
- militadothe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Finnish sodankäynti, sota
- sodankäyntithe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- sotathe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- sotiminenthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- sodankäyntimilitary operations of some particular kind
- sotamilitary operations of some particular kind
French guerre, guerre
- guerrethe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- guerremilitary operations of some particular kind
- combatmilitary operations of some particular kind
German Kriegsführung, Kriegsführung
- Kriegsführungthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- Kriegsführungmilitary operations of some particular kind
Greek πόλεμος, σύρραξη
- πόλεμος (pólemos)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- σύρραξη (sýrraxi)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- εχθροπραξίες (echthropraxíes)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- πάλη (páli)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Hebrew לׇחְמָה, לׇחֲמָה
- לׇחְמָה (lokhmá)military operations of some particular kind
- לׇחֲמָה (lokhamá)military operations of some particular kind
Hungarian hadviselés
- hadviselésthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Italian battaglia, combattimento
- battagliathe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- combattimentothe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Māori matawhāura, rīriri
- matawhāurathe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- rīririthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- matawhāuramilitary operations of some particular kind
Norwegian Bokmål krigføring, krigføring
- krigføringthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- krigføringmilitary operations of some particular kind
Polish prowadzenie wojny, wojna
- prowadzenie wojnythe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- wojnathe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Portuguese batalha, combate
- batalhathe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- combatethe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Romanian război, luptă
- războithe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- luptăthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Russian веде́ние войны́, вое́нная опера́ция
- веде́ние войны́ (vedénije vojný)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- вое́нная опера́ция (vojénnaja operácija)military operations of some particular kind
- вое́нные де́йствия (vojénnyje déjstvija)military operations of some particular kind
- боевы́е де́йствия (bojevýje déjstvija)military operations of some particular kind
Spanish conflicto armado, guerras
- conflicto armadothe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- guerrasthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- estrategia militarthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- guerramilitary operations of some particular kind
Thai การสู้รบ
- การสู้รบthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Ukrainian воюва́ння, воє́нна опера́ція
- воюва́ння (vojuvánnja)the waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
- воє́нна опера́ція (vojénna operácija)military operations of some particular kind
- воє́нні ді́ї (vojénni díji)military operations of some particular kind
- військо́ві ді́ї (vijsʹkóvi díji)military operations of some particular kind
- бойові́ ді́ї (bojoví díji)military operations of some particular kind
Vietnamese chiến tranh
- chiến tranhthe waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy
Cite this entry
APA
warfare. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warfare
MLA
“warfare.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warfare. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “warfare,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warfare.
Source: warfare on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.