# balance of terror

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The tenuous peace that existed during the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

## Etymology
Probably coined by Lester Pearson in June 1955 at the 10th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter: “The balance of terror has succeeded the balance of power.”

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/balance-of-terror