Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CASUS BELLI

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connect today's word to others: If you can think of a word with bel or bell in it, and if that word has something to do with war or fighting, then it's probably related to our phrase casus belli. Such as: rebel, rebellion, belligerent (warlike or eager to fight), antebellum (very old, or "before the war"), and Bellatrix, meaning "a female warrior." Remember Bellatrix Lestrange, from the Harry Potter stories? There's a villain who needs no casus belli to rush into battle. The Latin phrase casus belli means "a case of war," but if you guessed that it means "a cause of war," that's close enough: a casus belli is any excuse we use to justify going into war, or starting a fight of any sort. Casus belli is also related to the word bellic____, meaning "eager to fight, or ready to start a disagreement." (We ran into bellic___ just the other day because it's a synonym of truculent.) (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "CASUS BELLI" This term is Latin and literally means "war case." A casus belli is a reason for a war, a fight, or a conflict. In other words, a casus belli is an action or an event that starts a fight (or gets used as an excuse for starting a fight). Pronunciation: Several ways are acceptable. I prefer "KAY suss BELL eye." Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind: "a casus belli," "the casus belli," "one casus belli," "another casus belli," etc. Other forms: Just the plural, which we hardly ever use--after all, you need only one reason to go to war! It's spelled the same as the singular: casus belli. How to use it: Like we do with other Latin terms that look and sound foreign, put the term casus belli in italics.  It has a formal, serious tone. We use it to talk about all kinds of wars, from literal ones to legal battles to everyday conflicts. Refer to some act, action, event, or reason as a casus belli or the casus belli, often of or for some fight, conflict, or act of war. And you can talk about a casus belli as if it belongs to someone: his casus belli, her casus belli, the company's casus belli, the nation's casus belli. People can declare or pronounce something a casus belli, craft or invent a casus belli, define or identify a casus belli, use or represent something as a casus belli, take some hostile action with (or without) a casus belli, etc. And you can say that something becomes a casus belli, rises to a casus belli, constitutes a casus belli, etc. examples: As children, the brothers fought constantly, any trivial offense serving as their casus belli. "In their lawsuit, Pruitt and Bruning complain that Colorado marijuana ends up in neighboring Oklahoma and Nebraska... according to Pruitt and Bruning, 'Colorado’s actions amount to what would be casus belli if the states were fully sovereign nations.' That is like saying Iran would be justified in waging war on Iraq or Turkey because the governments of those neighboring countries refuse to ban alcoholic beverages."    —Jacob Sullum, Forbes, 8 January 2015 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "casus belli" without saying "grounds for war" or "justification for a fight." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "Although (some action) (had some kind of bad effect), we shouldn't treat it as a casus belli." Example: "Although her prank embarrassed us, we shouldn't treat it as a casus belli." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Apt Adjective Anagrams!  I'll invent a person's name and a brief description of that person, and you unscramble the letters in the name to form an adjective that aptly describes the person or the person's situation. For example, if I say "Naomi Cirous is still holding a grudge," then you rearrange the letters in "Naomi Cirous" to form the adjective "acrimonious," meaning "sharp, bitter, and mean"--an appropriate adjective for someone holding a grudge. From the previous issue: Maude Coins is a known liar. Answer: She's mendacious. Try this today: Sentimental movies always bring Martin Devesto to tears. review today's word: 1. The opposite of CASUS BELLI is A. REASON FOR BEING. B. REASON FOR PEACE. C. REASON FOR LEAVING. 2. Bush's casus belli was _____. A. an endearing habit of speaking clumsily B. that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction  C. repeated in 2004, when he was again named Person of the Year Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. B