prewar

adjective

pre·​war ˌprē-ˈwȯr How to pronounce prewar (audio)
variants or pre-war
: occurring or existing before a war and especially before World War II
prewar conditions
the prewar era/period/years
the country's prewar population
prewar levels of industrial production
an apartment in a prewar building

Examples of prewar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web When Hisako Hibi was eventually able to get back to San Francisco in 1954, she and her husband’s prewar art could not be found. Alicia Ault, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 Before the Griffiths’s memoir surfaced, there had long been an unsettled question about Robert Oppenheimer’s prewar political views. TIME, 8 Mar. 2024 Although the initial spike in energy prices after the 2022 invasion has abated, costs are not expected to return to prewar levels any time soon. Sudha David-Wilp, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 2024 Fewer than 200 aid trucks enter each day, less than half the prewar level, and aid groups say the fighting hinders distribution. Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 6 Jan. 2024 The intelligence assessment, according to a congressional source, says that 315,000 Russian personnel have been killed or injured since the February 2022 invasion, or about 87% of Moscow’s prewar force of 360,000. Matthew Luxmoore, WSJ, 12 Dec. 2023 The plans mark a turning point for a city that long identified itself as the capital of the Confederacy and the spiritual home of the Lost Cause, the idea that the prewar South was a graceful land of happy enslaved people and noble White aristocrats. Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 When prewar claims about the state of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs turned out not to be true, many came to believe some other agenda had driven Washington’s actions—familial revenge, say, or ideological zeal, or a desire to profit from Iraqi resources. Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Avdiivka’s prewar population of over 30,000 has shrunk to around 1,000 residents, the Associated Press reported, citing city officials. Kostiantyn Khudov, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prewar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of prewar was in 1868

Dictionary Entries Near prewar

Cite this Entry

“Prewar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prewar. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

prewar

adjective
pre·​war
ˈprē-ˈwȯ(ə)r
: occurring or existing before a war

More from Merriam-Webster on prewar

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