armistice

noun

1. (countable)A (short) cessation of combat.

   “135. An armistice is the cessation of active hostilities for a period agreed upon between belligerents. It must be agreed upon in writing, and duly ratified by the highest authorities of the contending parties. 136. If an armistice be declared, without conditions, it extends no further than to require a total cessation of hostilities, along the front of both belligerents.”

   “It has also become routine to interrupt wars in more lasting fashion by imposing armistices. Again, unless directly followed by successful peace negotiations, armistices perpetuate the state of war indefinitely because they shield the weaker side from the consequences of refusing the concessions needed for peace. […] Armistices in themselves are not way stations to peace but rather frozen wars.”

2. (countable)A formal agreement, especially between nations, to end combat.

   “The Fifth Volume of this Collection makes its appearance at the moſt eventful period of the war—it includes, therefore, matter of the higheſt importance, and contains all the official documents reſpecting the late Negotiation—the war between this country and Spain, the progreſs of the French arms in Italy and Germany—the armiſtices and treaties concluded with the German and Italian powers— […]”

   “Twice during the last quarter of a century the same railway vehicle has provided the scene of the signature of an armistice between Germany and France, and this famous vehicle is at present in Berlin, where it was placed on public exhibition in the Lustgarten on March 23.”

name

1. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of Armistice (“the armistice agreement signed between the Allies and Germany on 11 November 1918 to end World War I; (by extension) the end of World War I”).

   “The armistice of November 1918 could represent many things: the end of the war, the victory. But for the Carnard [the newspaper Le Canard enchaîné], first and foremost, it represented dissention among the French. […] After the armistice and the emergence of the first difficulties of the peace, many more both on the right and in the center argued that the armistice should have been signed in Berlin—in a word, the armistice of November 11 was premature.”

   “Later he [British Prime Minister David Lloyd George] meets with the House of Commons and, after an opening prayer is said, reviews the armistice terms, then moves for adjournment.”

2. The armistice agreement signed between the Allies and Germany on 11 November 1918 to end World War I; (by extension) the end of World War I.

   “[W]hat was to be the future policy of the Associated Governments in regard to the renewal of the Armistice: should the Armistice constantly be renewed, with new clauses and new conditions, or were the final naval and military terms to be drawn up immediately and imposed on the enemy.”

   “The armistice of November 1918 could represent many things: the end of the war, the victory. But for the Carnard [the newspaper Le Canard enchaîné], first and foremost, it represented dissention among the French. […] After the armistice and the emergence of the first difficulties of the peace, many more both on the right and in the center argued that the armistice should have been signed in Berlin—in a word, the armistice of November 11 was premature.”

   “Philomena passed another line of shabby soldiers waiting patiently at a soup kitchen. Months after the Armistice the war wasn't over. […] Dan was killed after the Armistice – an armistice is only a truce, it isn't the end. Is the Armistice technically ended? What will come after the Armistice – the peace? That would be nice.”

   “Later he [British Prime Minister David Lloyd George] meets with the House of Commons and, after an opening prayer is said, reviews the armistice terms, then moves for adjournment.”

   “French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have left their own mark of reconciliation at the start of events to mark the centenary of the end of World War One. They signed a book of remembrance in a railway carriage identical to the one in which the 1918 Armistice was sealed. […] Mrs Merkel became the first German leader since World War Two to visit the forest near the town of Compiègne in northern France where the Armistice was signed.”