truce
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
an agreement between enemies to stop fighting for a while.
a formal or informal agreement between opposing parties to suspend active hostilities for a specific duration.
Simple“The two countries signed a temporary truce to allow civilians to leave the city safely.”
In context“The fragile truce held for several weeks, providing a vital window for humanitarian aid to reach the besieged population before negotiations resumed.”
Antonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a short break from an argument or disagreement between friends or family.
a temporary suspension of a personal dispute or social conflict.
Simple“The siblings called a truce for the afternoon so they could enjoy their mother's birthday party.”
In context“After months of bickering over the inheritance, the cousins finally declared a truce to focus on the more pressing matter of the estate sale.”
“Since then, the EU and China have agreed a three-month truce.”
From Middle English trewes, triwes, trues, plural of trewe, triewe, true (“faithfulness, assurance, pact”), from Old English trēowa, singularized plural of trēow, trȳw (“faith; pledge; agreement”), from Proto-West Germanic treuwu, from Proto-Germanic trewwō (compare Dutch trouw, German Treue, Danish tro, French trêve [< Germanic]), noun form of *triwwiz (“trusty, faithful”). More at true.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.