truce

[troos]

noun

1. a suspension of hostilities for a specified period of time by mutual agreement of the warring parties; cease-fire; armistice.

2. an agreement or treaty establishing this.

3. a temporary respite, as from trouble or pain.

   Synonyms: stay, rest, pause, lull

truce

/ truːs /

noun

1. an agreement to stop fighting, esp temporarily

2. temporary cessation of something unpleasant

Other Word Forms

• truceless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of truce¹

1175–1225; Middle English trewes, plural of trewe, Old English trēow belief, pledge, treaty. See trow

Word History and Origins

Origin of truce¹

C13: from the plural of Old English treow _trow ; see _true , _trust

Example Sentences

The deal itself appears to be a transactional truce, potentially involving China resuming purchases of U.S. soybeans and delaying new controls on rare-earth minerals.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Pakistan said Wednesday that negotiations for a lasting truce with Afghanistan had "failed to bring about a workable solution", warning it would take steps to protect its people.

Read more on Barron's

Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador in Beijing under then-President Biden, said that kind of deal would amount to “an uneasy trade truce rather than a comprehensive trade deal.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The State Department said it was committed to achieving a durable peace in Sudan, including securing a truce and ending external support for the fighting.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lebanon faces an intense week of diplomatic activity aimed at reviving the truce and consolidating state authority in the south.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• accord 
• agreement 
• amnesty 
• armistice 
• cease-fire 
• détente 
• lull 
• moratorium 
• pause 
• peace 
• reconciliation 
• reprieve 
• suspension 

When To Use

What does truce mean?

A truce is a stoppage of fighting between two or more people or sides in a conflict, especially a temporary one.The agreement, or treaty, that establishes such a stoppage can also be called a truce. When used in the context of military conflicts, a truce is often temporary and set for a specified period of time.Truce can also be used casually to refer to an agreement between two or more people to stop arguing or engaging in some less serious form of conflict, like a pillow fight (not that pillow fights can’t get pretty intense).Example: I realized the bad blood between me and Taylor was really petty, so we both decided to call a truce.