declare war

declare war

English

Verb

declare war (third-person singular simple present declares war, present participle declaring war, simple past and past participle declared war)

1. (of a governmental authority) To make a formal pronouncement, or sign a legal document, that initiates a state of war between one nation and another, usually before hostilities begin.
   • 2007, Carlos Ramirez-Faria, Concise Encyclopaedia of World History:

     Germany declared war on France, who reciprocated, on August 3 [1939], and England declared war on Germany on August 4, when Belgium was already under invasion.

2. To announce one's intention to fiercely combat or eradicate something.

   The governor declared war on poverty.

   • 2011, Henry Hampton, ‎Steve Fayer, Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement:

     Leo Lillard, a Nashville native attending Tennessee State University, had become involved in the sit-ins as soon as they started. It was no longer just the students, it was clear that the town had declared war on racism.

Translations

initiate a state of war

Catalan: denunciar la guerra Chinese: Mandarin: 宣戰 (zh), 宣战 (zh) (xuānzhàn) Dutch: de oorlog verklaren Finnish: julistaa sota French: déclarer la guerre (fr) German: den Krieg erklären

Japanese: 宣戦布告する (ja) (sensen fukoku suru) Korean: please add this translation if you can Norman: dêcliather la dgèrre Portuguese: declarar guerra Spanish: declarar la guerra Swedish: deklarera krig Volapük: sagön krigi

announce one's intention to fiercely combat or eradicate something

Chinese: Mandarin: 宣戰 (zh), 宣战 (zh) (xuānzhàn)

Finnish: julistaa sota Spanish: please add this translation if you can