Detente

noun

/deɪˈtɑːnt/

The relaxation of strained relations between nations, especially through diplomatic negotiations, treaties, and trade agreements; India practised a form of detente with both Cold War blocs through its non-alignment policy while engaging with the USSR and the USA based on its own interests.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The Cold War-era détente between Washington and Moscow demonstrated that even ideologically opposed powers can institutionalise restraint through arms-control treaties and back-channel diplomacy, offering a template for de-escalating contemporary great-power rivalries.

Synonyms

rapprochementreconciliationthaweasing of tensionsappeasementconciliation

Antonyms

hostilityantagonismescalationestrangement

🌱 Word Family

détente (n), détentes (n pl)

🔡 Root

French détente = loosening, relaxation; from destendre = to relax; Latin de- + tendere = to stretch

📜 Etymology

From French detente ("loosening, relaxation"), from Old French destendre ("to relax"), from Vulgar Latin detendere, from de- ("from, away") + tendere ("to stretch"); the diplomatic usage dates from c. 1912.

🧠 Memory Hook

Think "de-tension" — détente shares the Latin root tendere ("to stretch/strain") with "tension"; the de- un-stretches it, loosening taut relations between nations.

🏛️ History & Culture 📖 Seen in: Wars & Foreign Policy

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