variants
or less commonly jehad
1
: a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty
also
: a personal struggle in devotion to Islam especially involving spiritual discipline
2
: a crusade for a principle or belief
Examples of jihad in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Khomeini declared jihad against Kurdish resistance groups, labeling them infidels, separatists and agents of Israel and the United States.
—
Shukriya Bradost, The Conversation, 28 June 2025
Howie Carr: Karen Read case a jihad against justice!
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 18 June 2025
From the days of Zarqawi, AQI and its successors have emphasized that in most circumstances, a woman’s role is to encourage her husband to wage jihad and raise her male children to be fighters, but in certain situations women may conduct operations themselves.
—Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2017
Over several months, Akhtar allegedly expressed strong support for the Islamic State group and violent jihad, including aspirations to travel overseas to join it.
—Elaine Mallon, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for jihad
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Shukriya Bradost, The Conversation, 28 June 2025
Howie Carr: Karen Read case a jihad against justice!
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 18 June 2025
From the days of Zarqawi, AQI and its successors have emphasized that in most circumstances, a woman’s role is to encourage her husband to wage jihad and raise her male children to be fighters, but in certain situations women may conduct operations themselves.
—Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2017
Over several months, Akhtar allegedly expressed strong support for the Islamic State group and violent jihad, including aspirations to travel overseas to join it.
—Elaine Mallon, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for jihad
Cite this Entry
“Jihad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jihad. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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