An armistice is a formal agreement between warring sides to stop fighting, usually temporarily, without officially ending the state of war.

Basic meaning

  • In international law, an armistice is an agreement for the cessation or suspension of active hostilities between two or more belligerents.
  • It can pause fighting completely or in a limited area, but legally the war itself still exists until a peace treaty or final settlement is made.

How it differs from peace

  • A peace treaty ends a war; an armistice mainly stops the shooting so negotiations can happen.
  • Armistices are often used as a first step toward peace, creating space for diplomacy after both sides are exhausted or at a stalemate.

Word origin and sense

  • The word comes from Latin roots meaning “weapons” and “to stand still,” so it literally suggests that weapons come to a stop.
  • In everyday English, people use “armistice” to mean a formal truce or cease-fire between enemies in a war.

TL;DR: The word armistice means a formal agreement between enemies in a war to stop fighting, usually as a step toward, but not yet, full peace.

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