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War vs Attack - What's the difference?

war | attack |

As a proper noun war

is the personification of war, often depicted in armor, and riding a red horse.

As a noun attack is

an attempt to cause damage or injury to, or to somehow detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.

As a verb attack is

to apply violent force to someone or something.

war

English

Alternative forms

* warre (obsolete)

Noun

  • (uncountable) Organized]], large-scale, armed conflict between [[country, countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually involving the engagement of military forces.
  • * 1917 , (Henry Ford), My Life and Work , Chapter 17:
  • Nobody can deny that war' is a profitable business for those who like that kind of money. ' War is an orgy of money, just as it is an orgy of blood.
  • * 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.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Old soldiers? , passage=Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.
  • (countable) A particular conflict of this kind.
  • * 1865 , (Herman Melville), "The Surrender at Appomattox":
  • All human tribes glad token see
    In the close of the wars of .
  • * 1999 , (Bill Clinton) at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C, November 8 1999:
  • A second challenge will be to implement, with our allies, a plan of stability in the Balkans, so that the region's bitter ethnic problems can no longer be exploited by dictators and Americans do not have to cross the Atlantic again to fight in another war .
  • (countable) By extension, any conflict, or anything resembling a conflict.
  • # (figuratively) A campaign against something.
  • The "war on drugs" is a campaign against the use of narcotic drugs.
  • The "war on terror" is a campaign against terrorist crime.
  • In the US, conservatives rail against the "war on Christmas".
  • # (business, countable) A bout of fierce competition in trade.
  • I reaped the benefit of the car dealerships' price war , getting my car for far less than it's worth.
  • The cellular phone companies were engaged in a freebie war , each offering various services thrown in when one purchased a plan.
  • (obsolete, uncountable) Instruments of war.
  • * Prior
  • His complement of stores, and total war .
  • (obsolete) Armed forces.
  • * Milton
  • On their embattled ranks the waves return, / And overwhelm their war .
  • (uncountable) A particular card game for two players, notable for having its outcome predetermined by how the cards are dealt.
  • * 2004 , Karen Salyer McElmurray, Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven
  • We played crazy eights, war , fifty-two card pickup. Rudy flipped the whole deck across the table at me and the cards sailed to the floor, kings, queens, deuces.

    Antonyms

    * peace

    Derived terms

    * all's fair in love and war * anti-war * civil war * cold war * conventional war * declaration of war * dynastic war * edit war * flame war * gas war * go to war * holy war * hot war * Hundred Years' War * inter-war * laws of war * man of war, man-of-war, man-o-war, man-o'-war * man-o'-war suit * nuclear war * perpetual war * pissing war * Portuguese man-of-war * post-war * pre-war * price war * prisoner of war, , PW * pro-war * proxy war * revert war * ship of war * spoils of war * state of war * theater of war, theatre of war * thumb war * total war * trade war * tug of war * turf war * undeclared war * war- * war between the sexes * war bond * war bonnet * war bride * War Cabinet * war chalk * war chest * war child * war crime * war criminal * war cry * war dance * war-dial * war-drive * warfare * war game, wargame * war groom * war hammer * warhead * war hound * warlord * war machine * warmonger * war of aggression * war of conquest * war of nerves * war of words * war paint, warpaint * war party * warpath * war reparations * war-ridden * warring * warrior * war room * war story * wartime * war to end all wars * war torn, war-torn * war veteran * war whoop * war widow * war zone * world war * World War One * World War Two

    See also

    * battle

    Verb

    (warr)
  • To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe).
  • * (William Shakespeare), King Henry V , act 3, sc. 1:
  • Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more . . .
    Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
    And teach them how to war .
  • * 1882 , (George Bernard Shaw), Cashel Byron's Profession , ch. 14:
  • This vein of reflection, warring with his inner knowledge that he had been driven by fear and hatred . . ., produced an exhausting whirl in his thoughts.
    To war the Scot, and borders to defend. — Daniel.
  • To carry on, as a contest; to wage.
  • That thou mightest war a good warfare. — Tim. i. 18.

    Statistics

    *

    attack

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An attempt to cause damage or injury to, or to somehow detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1913, author=
  • , title=Lord Stranleigh Abroad , chapter=4 citation , passage=“I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I??? Why didn’t I telephone??? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack , and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. …”}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author= Mark Tran
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=1, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Denied an education by war , passage=One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks' on schools
  • A time in which one attacks. The offence of a battle.
  • (cricket) Collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
  • (volleyball) Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.
  • (lacrosse) The three attackmen on the field or all the attackmen of a team.
  • The sudden onset of a disease.
  • An active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease.
  • (music) The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of that onset.
  • (audio) The amount of time it takes for the volume of an audio signal to go from zero to maximum level (e.g. an audio waveform representing a snare drum hit would feature a very fast attack, whereas that of a wave washing to shore would feature a slow attack).
  • Synonyms

    * (volleyball) hit, spike * See also

    Antonyms

    * (music) decay, release

    Derived terms

    * attack is the best form of defence * pincer attack

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To apply violent force to someone or something.
  • This species of snake will only attack humans if it feels threatened.
  • To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper headlines, because it typesets into less space than "criticize" or similar ).
  • She published an article attacking the recent pay cuts.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012
  • , date=June 3 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992) citation , page= , passage=In its God-like prime, The Simpsons attacked well-worn satirical fodder from unexpected angles, finding fresh laughs in the hoariest of subjects.}}
  • To begin to affect; to act upon injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.
  • * Macaulay
  • On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever.
  • * B. Stewart
  • Hydrofluoric acid attacks the glass.
  • To deal with something in a direct way; to set to work upon.
  • We´ll have dinner before we attack the biology homework.
    I attacked the meal with a hearty appetite.
  • (cricket) To aim balls at the batsman’s wicket.
  • (cricket) To set a field, or bowl in a manner designed to get wickets.
  • (cricket) To bat aggressively, so as to score runs quickly.
  • (soccer) To move forward in an attempt to actively score point, as opposed to trying not to concede.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011
  • , date=October 15 , author=Michael Da Silva , title=Wigan 1 - 3 Bolton , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Six successive defeats had left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table but, clearly under instructions to attack from the outset, Bolton started far the brighter.}}

    Synonyms

    * See also