# war

> English word · Noun · IPA /wɔː/ · frequency rank #332

## Definitions
1. Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces.
2. A particular conflict of this kind.
3. Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, particularly groups considered terrorists.
4. Any protracted conflict, particularly
5. Any protracted conflict, particularly
6. Any protracted conflict, particularly
7. Any protracted conflict, particularly
8. Any protracted conflict, particularly
9. An assembly of weapons; instruments of war.
10. Armed forces.
11. Any of a family of card games where all cards are dealt at the beginning of play and players attempt to capture them all, typically involving no skill and only serving to kill time.

## Etymology
From Middle English werre, from Late Old English werre /wyrre (“armed conflict”), from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French guerre /werre (compare modern French guerre), from Medieval Latin werra, from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wers- (“to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”). Gradually displaced native Old English beadu, hild, ġewinn, orleġe, wīġ, and many others as the general term for "war" during the Middle English period.
Related to Old High German werra (“confusion, strife, quarrel”) and German verwirren (“to confuse”), but not to Wehr (“defense”). Also related to Old Saxon werran (“to confuse, perplex”), Dutch war (“confusion, disarray”), West Frisian war (“confusion”),
Old English wyrsa, wiersa (“worse”), Old Norse verri (“worse, orig. confounded, mixed up”), Italian guerra (“war”). There may be a connection with worse and wurst.

## Easily confused with
- **we** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-we)
- **wi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wi)
- **Wu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wu)
- **wo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wo)
- **WC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wc)
- **wt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wt)
- **WS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-ws)
- **WV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wv)
- **WD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wd)
- **WL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wl)
- **wy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wy)
- **WF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wf)
- **was** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-was)
- **who** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-who)
- **way** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-way)
- **why** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-why)
- **win** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-win)
- **won** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-won)
- **wow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-wow)
- **web** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/war-vs-web)

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