war cloud
Americannoun
-
something that threatens war; a harbinger of conflict.
Etymology
Origin of war cloud
First recorded in 1820–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There is no doubt that most of our people were taken by surprise and that they were aghast at the sudden gathering of the war cloud.
From Q.6.a and Other places Recollections of 1916, 1917 and 1918 by Buckley, Francis
Miss North looks like a war cloud without a ghost of a silver lining.
From Blue Bonnet in Boston or, Boarding-School Days at Miss North's by Goss, John
In 1870, just before the war cloud burst, covering all that part of the world, I was stopping for some weeks at the Hotel Nassau.
From Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison Fifteen Years in Solitude by Bidwell, Austin
The war cloud had not burst with all its fury over a happy land, and the people were quietly pursuing their avocations.
From The Spy of the Rebellion Being a True History of the Spy System of the United States Army during the Late Rebellion, by Pinkerton, Allan
But again the war cloud seemed to hover over the establishment, and again the Sheriff's officers appeared in force.
From The Mapleson Memoirs, vol I 1848-1888 by Mapleson, James H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.