holy \ho"ly\, a. compar. holier; superl. holiest. oe.
   holi, hali, as. h=alig, fr. hael health, salvation,
   happiness, fr. h=al whole, well; akin to os. h?lag, d.  g.
   heilig, ohg. heilac, dan. hellig, sw. helig, icel. heilagr.
   see whole, and cf. halibut, halidom, hallow,
   hollyhock.
   1. set apart to the service or worship of god; hallowed;
      sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels;
      a holy priesthood. "holy rites and solemn feasts."
      --milton.
      1913 webster

   2. spiritually whole or sound; of unimpaired innocence and
      virtue; free from sinful affections; pure in heart; godly;
      pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to god.
      1913 webster

            now through her round of holy thought
            the church our annual steps has brought. --keble.
      1913 webster

   holy alliance hist., a league ostensibly for conserving
      religion, justice, and peace in europe, but really for
      repressing popular tendencies toward constitutional
      government, entered into by alexander i. of russia,
      francis i. of austria, and frederic william iii. of
      prussia, at paris, on the 26th of september, 1815, and
      subsequently joined by all the sovereigns of europe,
      except the pope and the king of england.

   holy bark. see cascara sagrada.

   holy communion. see eucharist.

   holy family art, a picture in which the infant christ,
      his parents, and others of his family are represented.

   holy father, a title of the pope.

   holy ghost theol., the third person of the trinity; the
      comforter; the paraclete.

   holy grail. see grail.

   holy grass bot., a sweet-scented grass hierochloa
      borealis and hierochloa alpina. in the north of europe
      it was formerly strewed before church doors on saints'
      days; whence the name. it is common in the northern and
      western parts of the united states. called also vanilla
      grass or seneca grass.

   holy innocents' day, childermas day.

   holy land, palestine, the birthplace of christianity.

   holy office, the inquisition.

   holy of holies script., the innermost apartment of the
      jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept, and
      where no person entered, except the high priest once a
      year.

   holy one.
      a the supreme being; -- so called by way of emphasis. "
          the holy one of israel." --is. xliii. 14.
      b one separated to the service of god.

   holy orders. see order.

   holy rood, the cross or crucifix, particularly one placed,
      in churches. over the entrance to the chancel.

   holy rope, a plant, the hemp agrimony.

   holy saturday eccl., the saturday immediately preceding
      the festival of easter; the vigil of easter.

   holy spirit, same as holy ghost above.

   holy spirit plant. see dove plant.

   holy thistle bot., the blessed thistle. see under
      thistle.

   holy thursday. eccl.
      a episcopal ch. ascension day.
      b r. c. ch. the thursday in holy week; maundy
          thursday.

   holy war, a crusade; an expedition carried on by christians
      against the saracens in the holy land, in the eleventh,
      twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, for the possession of
      the holy places.

   holy water gr.  r. c. churches, water which has been
      blessed by the priest for sacred purposes.

   holy-water stoup, the stone stoup or font placed near the
      entrance of a church, as a receptacle for holy water.

   holy week eccl., the week before easter, in which the
      passion of our savior is commemorated.

   holy writ, the sacred scriptures. " word of holy writ."
      --wordsworth.
      1913 webster
see also:
holier holiest whole halibut halidom hallow 
hollyhock holy alliance holy bark cascara sagrada holy communion 
eucharist holy family holy father holy ghost holy grail 
grail holy grass hierochloa borealis hierochloa alpina vanilla grass 
seneca grass holy innocents' day holy land holy office holy of holies 
holy one holy orders order holy rood holy rope 
holy saturday holy spirit holy spirit plant dove plant holy thistle 
thistle holy thursday holy war holy water holy-water stoup 
holy week holy writ 

war \war\, n. oe.  as. werre; akin to ohg. werra scandal,
   quarrel, sedition, werran to confound, mix, d. warren, g.
   wirren, verwirren, to embroil, confound, disturb, and perhaps
   to e. worse; cf. of. werre war, f. querre, of teutonic
   origin. cf. guerrilla, warrior.
   1913 webster
   1. a contest between nations or states, carried on by force,
      whether for defence, for revenging insults and redressing
      wrongs, for the extension of commerce, for the acquisition
      of territory, for obtaining and establishing the
      superiority and dominion of one over the other, or for any
      other purpose; armed conflict of sovereign powers;
      declared and open hostilities.
      1913 webster

            men will ever distinguish war from mere bloodshed.
                                                  --f. w.
                                                  robertson.
      1913 webster

   note: as war is the contest of nations or states, it always
         implies that such contest is authorized by the monarch
         or the sovereign power of the nation. a war begun by
         attacking another nation, is called an offensive war,
         and such attack is aggressive. war undertaken to repel
         invasion, or the attacks of an enemy, is called
         defensive.
         1913 webster

   2. law a condition of belligerency to be maintained by
      physical force. in this sense, levying war against the
      sovereign authority is treason.
      1913 webster

   3. instruments of war. poetic
      1913 webster

            his complement of stores, and total war. --prior.
      1913 webster

   4. forces; army. poetic
      1913 webster

            on their embattled ranks the waves return,
            and overwhelm their war.              --milton.
      1913 webster

   5. the profession of arms; the art of war.
      1913 webster

            thou art but a youth, and he is a man of war from
            his youth.                            --1 sam. xvii.
                                                  33.
      1913 webster

   6. a state of opposition or contest; an act of opposition; an
      inimical contest, act, or action; enmity; hostility.
      "raised impious war in heaven." --milton.
      1913 webster

            the words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
            but war was in his heart.             --ps. lv. 21.
      1913 webster

   civil war, a war between different sections or parties of
      the same country or nation.

   holy war. see under holy.

   man of war. naut. see in the vocabulary.

   public war, a war between independent sovereign states.

   war cry, a cry or signal used in war; as, the indian war
      cry.

   war dance, a dance among savages preliminary to going to
      war. among the north american indians, it is begun by some
      distinguished chief, and whoever joins in it thereby
      enlists as one of the party engaged in a warlike
      excursion. --schoolcraft.

   war field, a field of war or battle.

   war horse, a horse used in war; the horse of a cavalry
      soldier; especially, a strong, powerful, spirited horse
      for military service; a charger.

   war paint, paint put on the face and other parts of the
      body by savages, as a token of going to war. "wash the war
      paint from your faces." --longfellow.

   war song, a song of or pertaining to war; especially, among
      the american indians, a song at the war dance, full of
      incitements to military ardor.

   war whoop, a war cry, especially that uttered by the
      american indians.
      1913 webster
see also:
guerrilla warrior civil war holy war holy man of war 
public war war cry war dance war field war horse 
war paint war song war whoop 

19 moby thesaurus words for "holy war":
   armageddon, brushfire war, campaign, civil war, crusade, drive,
   expedition, general war, global war, jihad, limited war,
   police action, preventive war, religious war, revolutionary war,
   undeclared war, war, war of independence, world war