Cold War
Cold War
Pronunciation
IPA Phonetic Spelling:
/koʊld wɔːr/
Syllable Breakdown:
Cold: /koʊld/
/k/ - voiceless velar stop
/oʊ/ - diphthong (as in "go")
/l/ - voiced alveolar lateral approximant
/d/ - voiced alveolar stop
War: /wɔːr/
/w/ - voiced labial-velar approximant
/ɔː/ - open-mid back rounded vowel (as in "law")
/r/ - voiced alveolar approximant
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: Cold War
Plural Noun: Cold Wars
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A state of political and military tension between two or more opposing groups of countries, which does not involve direct armed conflict. This type of conflict is often characterized by proxy wars, espionage, economic pressure, arms races, and propaganda.
Synonyms: standoff, deep freeze, geopolitical rivalry, ideological conflict.
Antonyms: direct conflict, full-scale war, open warfare, peace.
(Specifically, capitalized) The historical period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, lasting from approximately 1947 to 1991.
Synonyms: The Great Standoff, the East-West divide, the Soviet-American rivalry.
Antonyms: (None applicable, as this refers to a specific historical event.)
Examples of Use
Books
"John Lewis and his colleagues had been convinced that they were fighting the good fight and had been told countless times that their struggle at home was a vital part of the larger Cold War abroad." (Branch, Taylor. Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63. January 1988.)
"The novel, a suspenseful tale of espionage, is set in Vienna during the height of the Cold War." (Le Carré, John. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. September 1963.)
Newspapers and Online Publications
"The two nations' growing competition for influence in the region has led some analysts to describe their relationship as a new cold war." (New York Times. July 2024.)
"In the post-Cold War era, the focus of international relations shifted from ideological conflict to addressing issues like terrorism and climate change." (The Guardian. May 2023.)
Entertainment
The television series The Americans follows two Soviet KGB intelligence officers posing as an American couple in suburban Washington, D.C., during the Cold War.
In the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the plot revolves around an unhinged U.S. Air Force general who orders a first strike nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a crisis during the Cold War.
The video game series Call of Duty: Black Ops often features missions set during the Cold War, with players taking on covert operations against Soviet forces.
General Public Discourse
"My grandfather always talked about his fear of a nuclear attack during the Cold War."
"The current political climate feels a lot like a cold war between the two major parties."
"Some people believe that the space race was a direct result of the Cold War competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union."
10 Famous Quotes Using Cold War
"I don't know why you use a fancy French word like détente when there's a good English phrase for it—cold war." (Golda Meir)
"The Cold War isn't thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat. Communism isn't sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting." (Richard M. Nixon)
"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose." (Ronald Reagan)
"Without perestroika, the cold war simply would not have ended. But the world could not continue developing as it had, with the stark menace of nuclear war ever present." (Mikhail Gorbachev)
"But the biggest thing that has happened in the world in my life, in our lives, is this: By the grace of God, America won the Cold War." (George H.W. Bush)
"The Cold War is over but Cold War thinking survives." (Joseph Rotblat)
"The great and abiding lesson of American history, particularly the cold war, is that the engine of capitalism, the individual, is mightier than any collective." (Rand Paul)
"When I was in the White House, I was confronted with the challenge of the Cold War. Both the Soviet Union and I had 30,000 nuclear weapons that could destroy the entire earth and I had to maintain the peace." (Jimmy Carter)
"The war against terror is every bit as important as our fight against fascism in World War II, or our struggle against the spread of Communism during the Cold War." (Jim Bunning)
"The magnificent army that fought in Desert Storm is a great army, and it still is a magnificent army today. But it was one we designed for the Cold War, and the Cold War has been over for ten years now." (Eric Shinseki)
Etymology
The term "Cold War" was first used to describe a state of tension between countries that didn't involve direct fighting. Its origin is often credited to the English writer George Orwell, who used it in an essay in 1945 to describe a world living in the shadow of a nuclear standoff.
However, the phrase became famous when American financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch used it in a speech in 1947 to describe the growing rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. He said, "Let us not be deceived: we are today in the midst of a cold war."
The word "cold" in this context refers to the absence of "hot" or open warfare. It highlights that the conflict was fought through other means, such as economic pressure, propaganda, espionage, and proxy wars in other countries, rather than direct military confrontation. The term perfectly captured the unique nature of the post-World War II superpower rivalry, which was a state of constant, high-stakes tension without a direct battlefield.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Cold War
The new cold war: A term used to describe a new period of geopolitical tension between major powers.
A cold war of words: A situation where two parties engage in a prolonged verbal conflict without any physical confrontation.
Post-Cold War era: The period following the end of the geopolitical conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
To wage a cold war: To engage in the types of non-military hostilities characteristic of the Cold War.
Caught in the cold war crossfire: To be an unintended victim of a conflict between two larger powers.
A cold war mentality: A mindset characterized by suspicion, distrust, and the belief that one is constantly in conflict with an opposing force.
The global cold war: A broader term for the worldwide geopolitical struggle, encompassing more than just the U.S. and Soviet rivalry.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of Cold War from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
