imperialism
Americannoun
the policy of extending the rule or authority of anempire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.
advocacy ofimperial or sovereign interests over the interests of the dependent states.
imperial government; rule by an emperor or empress.
an imperial system of government.
British. the policy of so uniting the separate parts of an empire with separate governments as to secure for certain purposes a single state.
noun
the policy or practice of extending a state's rule over other territories
an instance or policy of aggressive behaviour by one state against another
the extension or attempted extension of authority, influence, power, etc, by any person, country, institution, etc
cultural imperialism
a system of imperial government or rule by an emperor
the spirit, character, authority, etc, of an empire
advocacy of or support for any form of imperialism
Acquisition by a government of other governments or territories, or of economic or cultural power over other nations or territories, often by force.Colonialism is a form of imperialism.
Other Word Forms
- imperialist noun
- imperialistic adjective
- imperialistically adverb
- nonimperialistic adjective
- nonimperialistically adverb
- unimperialistic adjective
Etymology
Origin of imperialism
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Disillusioned with Britain's expanding imperialism, Stanley quit the diplomatic service in 1858 and decided to become a Muslim some months later while travelling in Arabia.
FromBBC
President Macron will also address the conference on Friday, having told the World Economic Forum in Davos last month that now was "not a time for new imperialism or new colonialism".
FromBBC
Massie's work cleverly engaged the reader in big ideas – imperialism, the clash between personal relationships and ideological movements, myth and reality in the stories we tell ourselves about political leaders – while never forgetting to entertain.
FromBBC
He describes the project as a case of “conservation imperialism,” in which poor communities bear the cost of foreign environmentalists’ actions.
Articles tagged “critical” focused on a negative event, idea or time, including subjects of racism, sexism and imperialism.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
