Truce
n.calm, hopefuleveryday
What it means
An agreement to pause or end fighting or hostility, usually for a stated period or purpose.
Reach for it when naming a negotiated stop to conflict without pretending the underlying dispute is resolved
The two neighborhood groups called a truce while an independent survey settled the boundary.
Choose between these
6- playful
time-out
when a brief informal pause lets tempers cool
not when Time-out trivializes serious violence and carries no negotiated commitments.
- warm
when the broader absence of conflict or reconciliation is real
not when Peace is a larger outcome; a truce can leave grievances untouched.
- professional
ceasefire
when armed parties formally stop military action
not when A ceasefire is war-specific and may be more precisely monitored than a truce.
- professional
stand-down
when parties stop active operations on instruction or agreement
not when A stand-down may be unilateral and temporary without mutual terms.
- formal
when a formal military agreement suspends hostilities
not when Armistice is too grand and technical for an everyday disagreement.
- literary
detente
when relations relax after sustained political tension
not when Detente describes reduced tension rather than a specific agreement to stop fighting.
Said against
3- hostilities
- warfare
- escalation
It naturally appears in
3- call a truce
The rival clubs agreed to call a truce for the joint fundraiser.
- temporary truce
A temporary truce allowed families to leave the damaged district.
- uneasy truce
The uneasy truce held while mediators met both sides.
Where this comes from
A truce stops hostile action; it does not by itself create justice, trust, or lasting peace.
- Wiktionary, English noun sense: an agreement to stop fighting for a period opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.