Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A temporary cessation or suspension of hostilities by agreement of the opposing sides; an armistice.
  • noun A respite from a disagreeable state of affairs.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To end or be ended with a truce.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An intermission of hostilities; specifically, a temporary cessation or suspension of hostilities mutually agreed upon by the commanders of two opposing forces, generally for some stipulated period, to admit of negotiation, or for some other purpose.
  • noun Respite; temporary quiet or intermission of action, pain, contest, or the like.
  • noun Reconciliation; peace.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Mil.) A suspension of arms by agreement of the commanders of opposing forces; a temporary cessation of hostilities, for negotiation or other purpose; an armistice.
  • noun Hence, intermission of action, pain, or contest; temporary cessation; short quiet.
  • noun (Mil.) a white flag carried or exhibited by one of the hostile parties, during the flying of which hostilities are suspended.
  • noun a suspension of arms promulgated by the church, which occasionally took place in the Middle Ages, putting a stop to private hostilities at or within certain periods.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a period of time in which no fighting takes place due to an agreement between the opposed parties
  • noun an agreement between opposed parties in which they pledge to cease fighting for a limited time

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English trewes, pl. of trewe, treaty, pledge, from Old English trēow; see deru- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English trewes, triwes, trues, plural of trewe, triewe, true ‘faithfulness, assurance, pact’, from Old English trēowa, singularized plural of trēowe, from Proto-Germanic *trewwō (compare Dutch trouw, German Treue, Danish tro), noun form of *trewwjaz ‘trusty, faithful’. More at true.

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Examples

  • "On the 30th of August, the States expressed their readiness to agree to a long truce, provided, the adverse party 'would _so absolutely acknowledge them for free countries, as that it should not be questioned after the expiration of the truce_, that otherwise they could not listen to a truce.'

    The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. VIII Jared Sparks 1827

  • I. iii.262 (35,4) long continu'd truce] Of this long _truce_ there has been no notice taken; in this very act it is said, that _Ajax coped

    Notes to Shakespeare, Volume III: The Tragedies Samuel Johnson 1746

  • With each flare-up, it is clear that the term truce has taken on a diplomatic meaning distinct from actual events on the ground.

    CAMERA Snapshots SS 2008

  • With each flare-up, it is clear that the term truce has taken on a diplomatic meaning distinct from actual events on the ground.

    CAMERA Snapshots 2008

  • And I think Hamas knows that destroying Israel is not something they're ever going to be able to accomplish, and they've talked openly about being receptive to a long term truce, which is already a concession from that 1988 charter document.

    Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog 2009

  • The sources said al Qaeda has offered what they termed a truce in exchange for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    Israelated - English Israel blogs 2009

  • The sources said al Qaeda has offered what they termed a truce in exchange for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    Big Dogs House 2009

  • The sources said Al Qaida has offered what they termed a truce in exchange for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    Infidel Bloggers Alliance 2009

  • The sources said al Qaeda has offered what they termed a truce in exchange for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    Libertarian Republican 2009

  • The HCR bill and upcoming energy, climate and immigration issues as well as civil rights for gays, assumes that a truce is possible in this war.

    Matthew Yglesias » The Rise of the Filibuster 2009

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