# psychological warfare

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/psychological-warfare
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A mentally manipulative approach to warfare involving use of techniques to demoralize or intimidate someone into surrender.

## Examples

- The coach uses psychological warfare to distract the other team.
- During the intense contract negotiations, the manager used psychological warfare to make his opponents doubt their own position.
- The dictator employed sophisticated psychological warfare, spreading rumors and fear throughout the city to ensure the population remained too intimidated to organize any resistance.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.