VocabauraVOCABAURA

jihad

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A holy war undertaken by Muslims.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

jeehad

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdʒihæd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. islam

    A holy war undertaken by Muslims.

  2. islamtheology

    A personal spiritual struggle for self-improvement and/or against evil.

  3. by extension

    An aggressive campaign for an idea.

verb

  1. To participate in a jihad.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A holy war undertaken by Muslims.

Used this way, jihad is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Critical or judgemental
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • jehad , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “jihad”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

jihad movementafghan jihadgreater jihadwage jihadjihad organizationjihad groupfulani jihad

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • harakat ul-jihad-i-islaminounCompound term

    An extremist militant group in Pakistan occupied Kashmir that seeks an Islamic government and that has had close links and fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

  • harkat-ul-jihad-e-islaminounCompound term

    An extremist militant group in Pakistan occupied Kashmir that seeks an Islamic government and that has had close links and fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

  • international islamic front for jihad against jews and crusadersnounCompound term

    A terrorist group organized by Osama bin Laden in 1998 that provided an umbrella organization for al-Qaeda and other militant groups in Egypt and Algeria and Pakistan and Bangladesh.

  • islamic jihadnounCompound term

    A Shiite terrorist organization with strong ties to Iran.

  • islamic jihad for the liberation of palestinenounCompound term

    A Shiite terrorist organization with strong ties to Iran.

  • laskar jihadnounCompound term

    A paramilitary terrorist organization of militant Muslims in Indonesia.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: holy war undertaken by Muslims

jehadRare

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “jihad” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.