Cold War

noun

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

• Instance Hypernyms: ↑hostility, ↑enmity, ↑antagonism

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cold war,

1. a prolonged struggle for power between nations or groups of nations, conducted primarily by diplomatic, economic, and psychological means rather than by extensive and direct military action: »

The present situation is a mixture of peace and war, called cold war (Wall Street Journal).

2. a condition of hostility between two people or groups.

Cold War,

the contest for world leadership that began after World War II between the communist nations headed primarily by the former Soviet Union and the nations of the West headed principally by the United States. It came to an end with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

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n. a state of political hostility existing between countries, characterized by threats, violent propaganda, subversive activities, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular

■ the Cold War the state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the U.S.-led Western powers from 1945 to 1990

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noun, pl ⋯ wars

1 the Cold War : the nonviolent conflict between the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R. after 1945

the era of the Cold War

2 [count] : a conflict or dispute between two groups that does not involve actual fighting

the cold war between the party's more liberal and conservative members

cold-war (or Cold-War) adj, always used before a noun

cold-war diplomacy

the Cold-War era

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ˌcold ˈwar [cold war] noun singular, uncountable (often Cold War)

a very unfriendly relationship between two countries who are not actually fighting each other, usually used about the situation between the US and the Soviet Union after the Second World War