ethnic cleansing

noun

: the expulsion, imprisonment, or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity

Examples of ethnic cleansing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Twenty years ago, at the 2005 World Summit, world leaders affirmed the responsibility of individual States to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including through the prevention of these crimes and their incitement. Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025 Media report excess violence against farmers, especially white ones, but not ethnic cleansing — crime, not genocide. Ben Goggin, NBC news, 15 May 2025 The violence led to large numbers of people fleeing the country, particularly ethnic minorities like the Rohingya, who have been denied citizenship and faced aggressive ethnic cleansing efforts from the military government, which views them as a threat to nationalist identity. Reia Li, AZCentral.com, 7 July 2025 Ushering in nothing short of a police state intent on ethnic cleansing, Trump’s proposed 2026 budget authorizes funding for detention complexes greater than the budget for the federal prison system and detention complex capacity that will allow the government to detain at least 116,000 at once. Bob Kustra, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for ethnic cleansing

Word History

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ethnic cleansing was in 1991

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Cite this Entry

“Ethnic cleansing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnic%20cleansing. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.

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