If one government places a trade embargo on another, it can be an act of war between the two countries. But if an arms embargo is in place, many countries refuse to sell arms to a particular country because it is especially violent. As a verb, the use of embargo is a little broader...
Embargoes are not violent like guns and bombs, but they still have the potential to harm the people and the economies of the nations involved. Embargoes can cut off the flow of essential goods and services to the civilians of the embargoed country, potentially to a harmful degree. In the ...