Learn English – Can “wage war” be synonymous with “declare war”

word-difference

I know that "wage war" is an idiomatic expression that the American Heritage Dictionary defines as:

To engage in (a war or campaign, for example).

and Dictionary.com defines as:

to carry on (a battle, war, conflict, argument, etc.):
to wage war against a nation.

My question is: does "wage war" mean also 'declare war" or does it refer only to the development of war operations?

Best Answer

The two are not synonymous.

To declare war is an announcement of hostilities, typically at the beginning, though sometimes the official declaration is made after hostilities are already in progress.

To wage war is the actual process of conducting hostile actions. It can be done with or without a formal declaration.

So, in very simple terms, declare war is what the diplomats do, and wage war is what the soldiers do.

Aside from content, declare is a point in time - you do it once, and then it is done, while wage is a period of time, an ongoing activity.

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