collateral damage

noun

Definition of collateral damagenext
as in fatality

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of collateral damage Alleged Hamas operatives are assigned a NAZA number, representing how many civilian deaths are acceptable as collateral damage. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2026 But that may not be enough to overcome the collateral damage of the president’s sagging approval rating and soaring fuel prices because of the war. — ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026 The campaign also places particular emphasis on technologies capable of defeating drones while minimizing collateral damage. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2026 What’s at issue is collateral damage, a term that came into use during the Vietnam War to obscure, through abstraction, that masses of civilians were being systematically blown to pieces. — Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for collateral damage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collateral damage
  1. fatality
  2. sacrifice
  3. victim
  4. casualty
  5. prey
  6. loss
  7. martyr
Noun
  • In addition to the two fatalities, several people were injured that day.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The four are the only fatalities whose identities have been confirmed so far.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of fatality
Noun
  • Campbell cautioned that this doesn’t mean that the hundreds of other burials in these areas were also victims of human sacrifice.
    — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Travis Roy Rogers plays Darrel Curtis, the eldest who has been forced to take on a parental role and is starting to resent all his unappreciated sacrifices.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of sacrifice
Noun
  • The victim reported that four teenagers stole their necklace and fled the scene, according to police.
    — Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The drama turns on a young woman, victim of spike drinking at a lavish New Year’s Eve party in a remote manor.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of victim
Noun
  • And for those who might further ask, If this is a war, who are the American casualties?
    — Daniel Peña, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Security authorities in Aden said the Houthis targeted the airport with two missiles, with no casualties.
    — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of casualty
Noun
  • Chances of encountering a shark in Southern California are higher in October, when warmer coastal waters attract both prey and juvenile sharks.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • To give the episodes shape, each is broken up into several mini-narratives, such as a mother cheetah learning to adapt her hunting style to mountainous rocky terrain in order to catch prey for her hungry cubs.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of prey
Noun
  • The devastating loss of the coast has opened up the path for a change in the Saudis’ intolerance for dissent within the anti-Houthi coalition, however.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The rite symbolizes the deceased's final departure from the world of the living and helps the family come to terms with the loss.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of loss
Noun
  • The 100th annual festival celebrates the life of San Gennaro, who was the Bishop of Benevento, Italy, and a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church.
    — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Today, millions more people know about his stance on this issue and, thanks to Kraft, many see him as a martyr for a cause.
    — Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of martyr

Browse Nearby Words

collateral
collateral damage
collateral damages
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Cite this Entry

“Collateral damage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collateral%20damage. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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