name · noun · 4 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
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌkəʊld ˈwɔː/
General-American:/ˌkoʊld ˈwɔɹ/
General-American:/ˈkoʊld ˌwɔɹ/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)
1
name
Meaning 1
The period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, especially the United States, between 1945 and 1991.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
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 been much discussed, but few people have yet considered its ideological implications—that is, the kind of world-view, the kind of beliefs, and the social structure that would probably prevail in a state which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of “cold war” with its neighbours.
1951, Daniel V. Gallery, Clear the Decks, 19 October 1945, page 100, World War III started on VJ Day as a cold war. It began to warm up when the Russians blockaded Berlin and nearly reached the exploding point in Korea.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: hot war
3
noun
Meaning 3
a state of political hostility between countries using means short of armed warfare
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: hot war
Broader terms: hostility, enmity, antagonism
4
noun
Meaning 4
a state of political hostility that existed from 1945 until 1990 between countries led by the Soviet Union and countries led by the United States
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: hostility, enmity, antagonism
History
Etymology
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.
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.
Across languages
Translations
190 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
Koue Oorlog
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Albanian:
lufta e ftohtë
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Amharic:
ቅዝቃዛው ጦርነት
(ḳəzḳazaw ṭornät)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Arabic:
الْحَرْب الْبَارِدَة
(al-ḥarb al-bārida)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Aragonese:
Guerra Fría
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Armenian:
սառը պատերազմ
(saṙə paterazm)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Azerbaijani:
Soyuq Müharibə
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Basque:
Gerra Hotza
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Belarusian:
хало́дная вайна́
(xalódnaja vajná)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Bengali:
স্নায়ুযুদ্ধ
(snaẏujuddho)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Breton:
Brezel yen
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Bulgarian:
студе́на война́
(studéna vojná)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Burmese:
စစ်အေး
(cace:)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Catalan:
Guerra Freda
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Chinese Mandarin:
冷戰 /冷战
(lěngzhàn)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Chinese Mandarin:
美蘇冷戰 /美苏冷战
(Měi-Sū lěngzhàn)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Czech:
studená válka
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Danish:
den kolde krig
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Dutch:
Koude Oorlog
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Esperanto:
Malvarma milito
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Estonian:
Külm sõda
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Faroese:
kalda kríggið
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Finnish:
kylmä sota
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
French:
Guerre froide
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
West-Frisian:
Kâlde Kriich
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Galician:
Guerra fría
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Georgian:
ცივი ომი
(civi omi)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
German:
Kalter Krieg
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Greek:
ψυχρός πόλεμος
(psychrós pólemos)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Hebrew:
מלחמה קרה
(milkhamah karah)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Hindi:
शीतयुद्ध
(śītyuddh)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Hungarian:
hidegháború
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Icelandic:
Kalda stríðið
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Ido:
Kolda milito
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Indonesian:
Perang Dingin
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Irish:
Cogadh Fuar
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Italian:
Guerra fredda
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Japanese:
米ソ冷戦
(Bei-So reisen)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Japanese:
冷戦
(reisen)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Javanese:
Perang Dingin
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Kazakh:
Қырғи қабақ соғысы
(Qyrği qabaq soğysy)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Khmer:
សង្គ្រាមត្រជាក់
(sɑŋkriem trɑceak)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Korean:
냉전
(naengjeon)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Northern Kurdish:
Şerê Sar
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Lao:
ສົງຄາມເຢັນ
(song khām yen)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Latin:
Bellum Frigidum
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Latvian:
Aukstais karš
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Lithuanian:
Šaltasis karas
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Low German:
Koolt Krieg
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Macedonian:
Студена војна
(Studena vojna)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Malay:
Perang Dingin
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Malayalam:
ശീതയുദ്ധം
(śītayuddhaṁ)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Marathi:
शीतयुद्ध
(śītyuddha)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Mongolian:
Хүйтэн дайн
(Xüjten dajn)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Mongolian:
ᠬᠦᠢᠲᠡᠨ ᠳᠠᠢᠢᠨ
(küiten daiin)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Norman:
Fraide Dgèrre
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Norwegian:
Den kalde krigen
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Occitan:
Guèrra Freja
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Pannonian Rusyn:
жимна война
(žimna vojna)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Persian:
جنگ سرد
(jang-e sard)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Polish:
zimna wojna
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Portuguese:
Guerra Fria
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Punjabi:
ਸ਼ੀਤ ਜੰਗ
(śīt jaṅg)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Romanian:
Războiul Rece
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Russian:
холо́дная война́
(xolódnaja vojná)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Scottish Gaelic:
An Cogadh Fuar
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Serbo-Croatian:
хладни рат
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Serbo-Croatian:
hladni rat
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Sicilian:
Guerra Fridda
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Slovak:
studená vojna
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Slovene:
hladna vojna
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Somali:
Dagaalkii qaboobaa
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Spanish:
Guerra Fría
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Swedish:
kalla kriget
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Tagalog:
Digmaang Malamig
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Tajik:
Ҷaнги Сард
(Jang-i Sard)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Tamil:
பனிப்போர்
(paṉippōr)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Telugu:
ప్రచ్ఛన్నయుద్ధము
(pracchannayuddhamu)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Thai:
สงครามเย็น
(sǒng-kraam-yen)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Turkish:
Soğuk Savaş
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Tuvan:
Соок Дайын
(Sook Dayın)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Ukrainian:
холо́дна війна́
(xolódna vijná)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Urdu:
سَرْد جَن٘گ
(sard jang)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Uyghur:
سوغۇق ئۇرۇش
(soghuq urush)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Uzbek:
Sovuq urush
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Venetan:
Guera Freda
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Vietnamese:
Chiến tranh Lạnh
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Vietnamese:
chiến tranh lạnh
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Welsh:
Y Rhyfel Oer
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Yiddish:
קאַלטער קריג
(kalter krig)
— period of hostility short of open war between the Soviet Bloc and the Western powers, 1945–1991
Albanian:
luftë e ftohtë
— a period of hostile relations
Arabic:
حَرْب بَارِدَة
(ḥarb bārida)
— a period of hostile relations
Aragonese:
guerra fría
— a period of hostile relations
Armenian:
սառը պատերազմ
(saṙə paterazm)
— a period of hostile relations
Asturian:
guerra fría
— a period of hostile relations
Azerbaijani:
soyuq müharibə
— a period of hostile relations
Bashkir:
һалҡын һуғыш
(halqın huğış)
— a period of hostile relations
Basque:
gerra hotza
— a period of hostile relations
Belarusian:
хало́дная вайна́
(xalódnaja vajná)
— a period of hostile relations
Bengali:
স্নায়ুযুদ্ধ
(snaẏujuddho)
— a period of hostile relations
Breton:
brezel yen
— a period of hostile relations
Bulgarian:
студе́на война́
(studéna vojná)
— a period of hostile relations
Burmese:
စစ်အေးတိုက်ပွဲ
(cace:tuikpwai:)
— a period of hostile relations
Burmese:
စစ်အေး
(cace:)
— a period of hostile relations
Buryat:
хүйтэн дайн
(xüjten dajn)
— a period of hostile relations
Catalan:
guerra freda
— a period of hostile relations
Chechen:
шийла тӏом
(šiı̇la tʼom)
— a period of hostile relations
Chinese Cantonese:
冷戰 /冷战
(laang5 zin3)
— a period of hostile relations
Chinese:
冷戰 /冷战
(zh-min-nan)
— a period of hostile relations
Chinese Mandarin:
冷戰 /冷战
(lěngzhàn)
— a period of hostile relations
Chuvash:
сивлек вӑрҫӑ
(sivlek vărś̬ă)
— a period of hostile relations
Czech:
studená válka
— a period of hostile relations
Danish:
kold krig
— a period of hostile relations
Danish:
koldkrig
— a period of hostile relations
Dutch:
koude oorlog
— a period of hostile relations
Esperanto:
malvarma milito
— a period of hostile relations
Estonian:
külm sõda
— a period of hostile relations
Faroese:
kalt kríggj
— a period of hostile relations
Finnish:
kylmä sota
— a period of hostile relations
French:
guerre froide
— a period of hostile relations
West-Frisian:
kâlde kriich
— a period of hostile relations
Galician:
guerra fría
— a period of hostile relations
Georgian:
ცივი ომი
(civi omi)
— a period of hostile relations
German:
kalter Krieg
— a period of hostile relations
Greek:
ψυχρός πόλεμος
(psychrós pólemos)
— a period of hostile relations
Gujarati:
શીતયુદ્ધ
(śītyuddh)
— a period of hostile relations
Hebrew:
מִלְחָמָה קָרָה
(milkhamá kará)
— a period of hostile relations
Hindi:
शीतयुद्ध
(śītyuddh)
— a period of hostile relations
Hungarian:
hidegháború
— a period of hostile relations
Icelandic:
kalda stríðið
— a period of hostile relations
Ido:
kolda milito
— a period of hostile relations
Indonesian:
perang dingin
— a period of hostile relations
Irish:
cogadh fuar
— a period of hostile relations
Italian:
guerra fredda
— a period of hostile relations
Japanese:
冷戦
(reisen)
— a period of hostile relations
Japanese:
冷たい戦争
(tsumetai sensō)
— a period of hostile relations
Javanese:
perang dingin
— a period of hostile relations
Kazakh:
суық соғыс
(suyq soğys)
— a period of hostile relations
Khmer:
សង្គ្រាមត្រជាក់
(sɑɑsɑngkriəm trɑɑcĕək)
— a period of hostile relations
Korean:
냉전
(naengjeon)
— a period of hostile relations
Korean:
랭전
(raengjeon)
— a period of hostile relations
Northern Kurdish:
şerê sar
— a period of hostile relations
Kyrgyz:
кансыз согуш
(kansız soguş)
— a period of hostile relations
Lao:
ສົງຄາມເຢັນ
(song khām yen)
— a period of hostile relations
Latin:
bellum frigidum
— a period of hostile relations
Latvian:
aukstais karš
— a period of hostile relations
Lithuanian:
šaltasis karas
— a period of hostile relations
Low German:
koolt Krieg
— a period of hostile relations
Macedonian:
студена војна
(studena vojna)
— a period of hostile relations
Malay:
perang dingin
— a period of hostile relations
Malay:
pakanga taungaunga
— a period of hostile relations
Malayalam:
ശീതയുദ്ധം
(śītayuddhaṁ)
— a period of hostile relations
Maltese:
gwerra bierda
— a period of hostile relations
Manx:
caggey feayr
— a period of hostile relations
Marathi:
शीतयुद्ध
(śītyuddha)
— a period of hostile relations
Mongolian:
хүйтэн дайн
(xüjten dajn)
— a period of hostile relations
Norman:
fraide dgèrre
— a period of hostile relations
Norwegian Bokmål:
kald krig
— a period of hostile relations
Occitan:
guèrra freja
— a period of hostile relations
Dari:
جَنْگِ سَرْد
(jang-i sard)
— a period of hostile relations
Iranian Persian:
جَنْگِ سَرْد
(jang-e sard)
— a period of hostile relations
Polish:
zimna wojna
— a period of hostile relations
Portuguese:
guerra fria
— a period of hostile relations
Punjabi:
ਸ਼ੀਤ ਜੰਗ
(śīt jaṅg)
— a period of hostile relations
Romanian:
război rece
— a period of hostile relations
Russian:
холо́дная война́
(xolódnaja vojná)
— a period of hostile relations
Scottish Gaelic:
an cogadh fuar
— a period of hostile relations
Serbo-Croatian:
хладни рат
— a period of hostile relations
Serbo-Croatian:
hladni rat
— a period of hostile relations
Sicilian:
guerra fridda
— a period of hostile relations
Slovak:
studená vojna
— a period of hostile relations
Slovene:
hladna vojna
— a period of hostile relations
Spanish:
guerra fría
— a period of hostile relations
Swahili:
vita baridi
— a period of hostile relations
Swedish:
kallt krig
— a period of hostile relations
Tagalog:
digmaang malamig
— a period of hostile relations
Tajik:
ҷанги сард
(jang-i sard)
— a period of hostile relations
Tatar:
салкын сугыш
(salqın suğış)
— a period of hostile relations
Thai:
สงครามเย็น
(sǒng-kraam-yen)
— a period of hostile relations
Turkish:
soğuk savaş
— a period of hostile relations
Turkmen:
sowuk uruş
— a period of hostile relations
Ukrainian:
холо́дна війна́
(xolódna vijná)
— a period of hostile relations
Urdu:
سَرْد جَن٘گ
(sard jaṅg)
— a period of hostile relations
Uyghur:
سوغۇق ئۇرۇش
(soghuq urush)
— a period of hostile relations
Uzbek:
sovuq urush
— a period of hostile relations
Venetan:
guera freda
— a period of hostile relations
Vietnamese:
chiến tranh lạnh
— a period of hostile relations
Welsh:
y rhyfel oer
— a period of hostile relations
Yakut:
тымныы сэрии
(tïmnïï serii)
— a period of hostile relations
Yiddish:
קאַלטער קריג
(kalter krig)
— a period of hostile relations
