cold war
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Cold War¹
- /ˌkəʊld ˈwɔː/ UK
- /ˌkoʊld ˈwɔɹ/ US
- /ˈkoʊld ˌwɔɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Coined by American journalist Herbert Bayard Swope in 1947, in a speech he wrote for Bernard Baruch (1870–1965), an American financier and adviser to President Woodrow Wilson.
proper noun the Cold War
- The period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, especially the United States, between 1945 and 1991. Well Russia at the present time is at a crossroads. It is often said that the Cold War is over and that the West has won it- that's only half true. Because what has happened is that the communists have been defeated, but the ideas of freedom now are on trial. If they don't work, there will be a reve
cold war²
- /ˌkəʊld ˈwɔː/ UK
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Diachronically, back-formation from Cold War: a common noun back-formed from the proper noun naming the first post–WWII instance of the concept; synchronically, cold + war.
noun
-
A period of hostile relations between rivals where direct open warfare between them is largely undesired and avoided; especially, either the Cold War or Cold War II.
1945, George Orwell, "You and the Atom Bomb", Tribune, 19 October 1945; reprinted in Orwell, Sonia Orwell, and Ian Angus, George Orwell: The Collected Essays, Journalism & Letters, Volume 4: In Front of Your Nose (1946–1950), David R. Godine (2000), ISBN →ISBN, page 9,
James Burnham's theory has bee
Opposite: hot war
Translations
Every language
name period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
| Español | Guerra Fría |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 냉전 naengjeon |
| 日本語 | 米ソ冷戦 Bei-So reisen, 冷戦 reisen |
| 中文 | 冷戰 /冷战 lěngzhàn, 美蘇冷戰 /美苏冷战 Měi-Sū lěngzhàn |
| हिन्दी | शीतयुद्ध śītyuddh |
| Português | Guerra Fria |
| Français | Guerre froide |
| Deutsch | Kalter Krieg |
| Italiano | Guerra fredda |
| Ελληνικά | ψυχρός πόλεμος psychrós pólemos |
| Română | Războiul Rece |
| Русский | холо́дная война́ xolódnaja vojná |
| Tiếng Việt | Chiến tranh Lạnh, chiến tranh lạnh |
| العربية | الْحَرْب الْبَارِدَة al-ḥarb al-bārida |
| עברית | מלחמה קרה milkhamah karah |
noun a period of hostile relations
| Español | guerra fría |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 냉전 naengjeon |
| 日本語 | 冷戦 reisen, 冷たい戦争 tsumetai sensō |
| 中文 | 冷戰 /冷战 lěngzhàn |
| हिन्दी | शीतयुद्ध śītyuddh |
| Kiswahili | vita baridi |
| Português | guerra fria |
| Français | guerre froide |
| Deutsch | kalter Krieg |
| Italiano | guerra fredda |
| Ελληνικά | ψυχρός πόλεμος psychrós pólemos |
| Română | război rece |
| Русский | холо́дная война́ xolódnaja vojná |
| Tiếng Việt | chiến tranh lạnh |
| العربية | حَرْب بَارِدَة ḥarb bārida |
| עברית | מִלְחָמָה קָרָה milkhamá kará |
Talk about this word "cold war." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cold%20war. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cold war. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cold%20war "cold war." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cold%20war.Cite this
@misc{cold_war_2026,
title = {cold war},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cold%20war},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
