casus belli

Advancedzipf 2.03

Pronunciation

/ˌkeɪsəs ˈbɛlaɪ/(KAY-sus BEL-eye)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

开战理由；战争借口

Definition

An act or situation providing a justification for war; a provocation.

Word family

  • (no common derivatives)

Collocations

  • a casus belli
  • constitute a casus belli
  • provide a casus belli
  • manufactured casus belli

Examples

  1. 1.The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand provided the casus belli for World War I. (justification for war)
  2. 2.The cyberattack on critical infrastructure was considered a potential casus belli. (act of war)

Synonyms

  • provocation/ˌprɒvəˈkeɪʃən/— action causing anger
  • justification/ˌdʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/— reason for action
  • pretext/ˈpriːtɛkst/— false reason

Etymology

Latin for "case of war" — casus (occasion/case) + belli (of war) — the event that triggers military action