Europe was in war vs Europe was at war

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Europe was at war' is the more common and idiomatic expression to indicate that Europe was involved in a war. On the other hand, 'Europe was in war' is less common and may sound awkward to native English speakers.

Last updated: March 19, 2024 • 888 views

This phrase is grammatically correct but less commonly used in English.

"Europe was in war"

This phrase can be understood to mean that Europe was involved in a war, but it is not the most natural way to express this idea.

Show examples from the web [+]

Nov 13, 2015 ... Six months later Europe was in war..” Then he wrote eloquently, “As we look back we can see that the war was preceded by a period of strange ...
Finland is a young country. We belonged to Sweden since 1809 and to Russia till 1917, but when whole Europe was in war and Russia struggled with revolution ...
Apr 17, 2014 ... During the war all Europe was in war with each other. So there was a big stealmate. Germans was killing huge amount of British,French,and ...
Oct 20, 2015 ... @natsecHeather @lafloran @CFR_org @DefenseOne And the alternative? Europe was in war for hundreds of year and now the EU and Euro!

Alternatives:

Europe was at war
Europe was engaged in war
Europe was involved in a war
Europe was fighting a war
Europe was embroiled in war

This phrase is the more common and idiomatic way to express that Europe was involved in a war.

"Europe was at war"

This phrase is widely used to indicate that Europe was engaged in a war or conflict.

Show examples from the web [+]

... the system of entangling alliances kicked in trapping Europe in an unstoppable chain of events. Six weeks after the assassination, much of Europe was at war.
Europe was at war, but the United States remained neutral. Initially, it seemed that supplying both sides during the war would create an economic boom for the ...
Europe was at war, and millions would die in the battles that followed. The impact on global stock markets was immediate: the closure of every major European ...
Nov 12, 2014 ... On the morning of 28th July, 1914, the papers missed the story that Europe was at war because they had already gone to print. Girls work in a ...

Alternatives:

Europe was in a war
Europe was engaged in war
Europe was involved in a war
Europe was fighting a war
Europe was embroiled in war

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Europe was in war vs Europe was at war

"Europe was in war"

"Europe was at war"

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