Phrase guide

balance of terror

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The tenuous peace that existed during the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Probably coined by Lester Pearson in June 1955 at the 10th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter: “The balance of terror has succeeded the balance of power.”

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 恐怖平衡 — The tenuous peace that existed during the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
  • Finnish: kauhun tasapaino — The tenuous peace that existed during the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
  • French: équilibre de la terreur — The tenuous peace that existed during the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
  • Polish: równowaga strachu — The tenuous peace that existed during the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
  • Swedish: terrorbalans — The tenuous peace that existed during the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.