nonbelligerency

[ non-buh-lij-er-uhn-see ]

noun

1. the state or status of not participating in a war.
2. the status or policy of a nation that does not participate openly in a war but supports the cause of one of the belligerents.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nonbelligerency¹

First recorded in 1935–40; non- + belligerency

Example Sentences

Because common markets make not only for general prosperity but also for the kind of comity and nonbelligerency that flow naturally from uncoerced commercial relations.

From Time Magazine Archive

Syria: The most truculent -- wants Israel to cede "every inch of Arab land occupied by the Israelis by war and force," particularly the Golan Heights, in return for a state of nonbelligerency.

From Time Magazine Archive

He also backed the Israeli view that the conference should lead not just to nonbelligerency but to "real peace."

From Time Magazine Archive

What was most notable about the plan, which Morocco's King Hassan II described as a first step toward reaching a state of "nonbelligerency" with Israel, was that it did not denounce the Reagan proposals, and it did not single out the U.S. or Israel for condemnation.

From Time Magazine Archive

The major compromises and concessions had been worked out before Kissinger left Washington: Israel is to give up the Abu Rudeis oilfield and the Giddi and Mitla passes in the Sinai; American technicians are to man listening posts between the two armies; the agreement is to run for three years and, while it will not include an Egyptian statement of nonbelligerency, it will amount to about that.

From Time Magazine Archive