collateral damage
Incidental civilian harm
Collateral damage is unintended harm caused in pursuit of a target—especially civilian casualties during military operations.
The term frames incidental destruction as regrettable but secondary: The airstrike achieved its objective, but collateral damage was significant.
Outside military contexts, it describes any unintended negative consequences of an action: The layoffs were collateral damage from the merger.
Noncombatants killed in conflict
- fatalitiesLosses of life
- victimsThose who suffer harm
- injuriesBodily damage or harm
- lossesThings subtracted from standing
bystanders · non-combatants · innocents · wounded · killed · body count · death toll · survivors
Aerial military assault
- bombingAttack with explosives
- drone strikeRemotely piloted aerial attack
- missile strikeLaunched weapon hitting target
- shellingSustained artillery attack
artillery · carpet bombing · precision strike · surgical strike · friendly fire · crossfire · urban warfare · siege
Cascading secondary results
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
- aftermathResults following an event
- repercussionsIndirect results of actions
- ramificationsResulting effects or outcomes
blowback · side effects · knock-on effects · chain reaction · spillover · domino effect · long-term effects · economic disruption
Armed forces terminology
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- minimizationMaking as small as possible
- dehumanizationDenying personhood to others
media framing · public relations · plausible deniability · accountability · war crimes · Geneva Convention · human cost
civilian deaths
Noncombatants killed in conflict
- fatalitiesLosses of life
- victimsThose who suffer harm
- injuriesBodily damage or harm
losses · bystanders · non-combatants · innocents · wounded · killed · body count · death toll · survivors · orphans
air strike
Aerial military assault
- bombingAttack with explosives
- drone strikeRemotely piloted aerial attack
- missile strikeLaunched weapon hitting target
shelling · artillery · carpet bombing · precision strike · surgical strike · friendly fire · crossfire · urban warfare · siege · incursion
ripple effect
Cascading secondary results
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
- aftermathResults following an event
- repercussionsIndirect results of actions
ramifications · blowback · side effects · knock-on effects · chain reaction · spillover · domino effect · long-term effects · economic disruption · destabilization
military jargon
Armed forces terminology
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- minimizationMaking as small as possible
dehumanization · media framing · public relations · plausible deniability · accountability · war crimes · Geneva Convention · human cost
- Euphemismspass away, passed away, passed on, expecting, with child
- Aftereffectsaftermath, aftershock, fallout, side effects, ripple effect
- Doublespeakenhanced interrogation, friendly fire, regime change, neutralize, ethnic cleansing
- Indirect Effectssecondhand smoke, passive smoking, ripple effect, spillover, domino effect
- military slangFUBAR, hoorah, devil dog, SNAFU, GI
- victimsvictim, victims, casualty, survivors, fatality
collateral damageprecision strike
Targeted military attack
surgical strike · intentional killing · pinpoint accuracy · clean hit · first-degree murder
damage, damaging, damages, undamaged, collateral, collaterally, collaterals, collateralize, collateralized