truce

n.

1. A temporary cessation or suspension of hostilities by agreement of the opposing sides; an armistice.
2. A respite from a disagreeable state of affairs.

tr. & intr.v., truced, truc·ing, truc·es.

To end or be ended with a truce.

[Middle English trewes, pl. of trewe, treaty, pledge, from Old English trēow.]

noun

A temporary cessation of hostilities by mutual consent of the contending parties: armistice, cease-fire. See continue/stop/pause.

n

Definition: peaceful solution
Antonyms: disagreement, fight, war

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Truce is the cessation of hostilities on a temporary basis. A state of truce is created by an agreement between two antagonists to cease operations against one another. It is normally brought about through communication between senior officers on each side. This is termed an official truce. When the troops themselves arrange a truce it is described as an unofficial truce. Such arrangements are commonly denounced by commanders as fraternization, and are discouraged.

In most cases a truce is agreed for a set period of time determined by the commanders involved. This may be to permit negotiations for peace to be carried out, as was the case in 1918 when the Armistice brought operations in WW I to an end. However, if negotiations prove unsuccessful fighting is expected to resume. Sometimes a truce may be called for simple expediency rather than for peace negotiations, and in these cases the period set for the truce is comparatively brief. For example, evacuation of women, children, or wounded from a besieged position is widely regarded as an act of humanity, and such evacuations may be facilitated by a short truce. In at least one instance, during the American civil war, such a truce was held to forcibly evacuate civilians from Atlanta following the capture of that city by Sherman. Hostilities may also be halted for a short period after a battle to allow medical staff to reach the wounded, or remove the dead. More fleeting still are truces called to allow communications between adversaries. These are often indicated simply by the bearer lofting a white flag, and proceeding towards enemy lines. This type of truce is localized to the area in which the bearer may be readily seen, and, unless an alternative arrangement is made, ends upon his return to his own lines.

It is, of course, an act of trust and bravery to proceed toward enemy lines relying upon the honour of an opponent not to fire on men bearing a flag of truce. The Para officer killed at Goose Green on such a mission during the Falklands war was hit by a machine gun crew unaware that the rest of its unit had ceased firing. This illustrates the problems involved in arranging an unofficial truce. A truce is a tenuous arrangement in mutable circumstances even when created through official channels. When the truce is unofficial, when it amounts merely to an undertaking among soldiers themselves, the opportunity for deceit or misunderstanding is obvious, and although the latter is the more likely reason for an unofficial truce to be breached, broken truces inevitably escalate hostility.

The best-known example of an unofficial truce occurred during WW I when troops from both sides emerged from their trenches to celebrate Christmas in 1914. Official disapproval of this fraternization, and the increasingly brutal nature of the war, meant that the event was not repeated in the following years. The Christmas truce was sufficiently widespread to attract attention, but in most cases an unofficial truce tends to be small and localized, and may be disguised by desultory firing. Where troops faced extended periods in contact with the enemy, a ‘live-and-let-live’ agreement was sometimes an acceptable substitute to a truce for troops on both sides.

— Andrew Haughton

n. an agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting or arguing for a certain time: the guerrillas called a three-day truce.

truceless adj.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

Friendship.

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IN BRIEF: A state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms.

When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. — Sun Tzu (500 BC)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - våbenstilstand, hvile, kort frist
v. tr., -
v. intr. - indgå våbenhvile, afslutte med våbenhvile

Nederlands (Dutch)
bestand

Français (French)
n. - trêve
v. tr. - terminer par une trêve
v. intr. - se terminer par une trêve

Deutsch (German)
n. - Waffenstillstand
v. - Waffenstillstand vereinbaren

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (στρατ., μτφ.) ανακωχή, εκεχειρία

Italiano (Italian)
tregua

Português (Portuguese)
n. - trégua (f), armistício (m), cessão temporária (f), pausa (f)

Русский (Russian)
перемирие

Español (Spanish)
n. - tregua
v. tr. - cesar, pausar, respirar
v. intr. - concertar una tregua

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vapenvila

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
休战, 休止, 休战协定, 以休战结束, 停战

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 休戰, 休止, 休戰協定
v. tr. - 以休戰結束
v. intr. - 停戰, 休止

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 휴전, 휴지
v. tr. - 휴전에 의해 중지하다
v. intr. - 휴전하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 休戦, 停戦協定

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) هدنه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הפוגה, הפסקת-אש‬
v. tr. - ‮הגיעו להפסקת-אש‬
v. intr. - ‮הסתיימ(ה) בהפסקת-אש‬

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