Phrase guide

culture war

noun · 2 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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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A political struggle for control over cultural institutions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Conflict between different ideological groups, especially political conflict for cultural dominance between liberals and conservatives in the United States.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: in-plural, often

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque of German Kulturkampf.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 文化战争 — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Finnish: kulttuurisota — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Finnish: kulttuurisodankäynti — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • French: guerre culturelle — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Georgian: კულტურული ომი (ḳulṭuruli omi) — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • German: Kulturkampf — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Hungarian: kultúrharc — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Kazakh: мәдени соғыс (mädeni soğys) — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Polish: wojna kultur — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Spanish: guerra cultural — political conflict for cultural dominance
  • Spanish: batalla cultural — political conflict for cultural dominance