Meaning & use
armistice
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A formal agreement between opposing sides in a war to stop fighting.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'sign' or 'declare' and followed by 'with'.
Patterns
- sign an armistice
- declare an armistice
- an armistice with someone
The two countries signed an armistice after months of heavy fighting.
The general announced an armistice to allow wounded soldiers to be evacuated.
An armistice was declared, but no peace treaty was signed for another year.
Word forms
| plural | armistices |
|---|
Common combinations
- sign an armistice
- The leaders met in a neutral city to sign an armistice.
- declare an armistice
- The president declared an armistice on the evening news.
- armistice agreement
- The armistice agreement set a temporary border between the armies.
- armistice talks
- Armistice talks continued late into the night.
- Armistice Day
- In many countries, Armistice Day is marked with a minute of silence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- truce
- A truce is a stop in fighting that may be temporary or local; an armistice is more formal and usually covers a whole war.
- ceasefire
- A ceasefire is an order or agreement to stop shooting, often for a short time; an armistice is a formal, lasting agreement.
- peace
- Peace means the end of a war and normal relations; an armistice only stops the fighting.
Opposites
Word family
- armistice noun
- The agreement itself.
Commonly confused: armistice or amnesty?
armistice vs amnesty
Amnesty is a general pardon for offenses, often political; armistice is about stopping a war. They sound similar but are not related in meaning.
Practice
The two sides finally signed a(n) ______, ending the fighting but not the war.
Choose one answer.
An armistice stops the fighting, which fits 'ending the fighting but not the war.' A treaty would end the war formally; amnesty is a pardon; an alliance is an agreement to fight together.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “armistice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.