expansionism
noun
ex·pan·sion·ism
ik-ˈspan(t)-shə-ˌni-zəm 
: a policy or practice of expansion and especially of territorial expansion by a nation
Examples of expansionism in a Sentence
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Russian imperialism and Chinese expansionism rely on the assumption that democracies are slow and reactive.
—
Hunter Lacroix, Baltimore Sun, 13 July 2025
Within decades, the settlers’ brutal expansionism had decimated the Indigenous Selk’nam, who’d arrived some 10,000 years before.
—Michael Snyder, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2025
His public skepticism of our NATO treaty commitments, at least unless allies pay more, ignores the alliance's strategic value as a bulwark against Russian expansionism and source for democratic resilience.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 goods, prompted a global trade war that intensified geopolitical rivalries and helped push Germany, Italy, and Japan toward autarky and expansionism.
—Allison Carnegie, Foreign Affairs, 14 May 2025
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Hunter Lacroix, Baltimore Sun, 13 July 2025
Within decades, the settlers’ brutal expansionism had decimated the Indigenous Selk’nam, who’d arrived some 10,000 years before.
—Michael Snyder, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2025
His public skepticism of our NATO treaty commitments, at least unless allies pay more, ignores the alliance's strategic value as a bulwark against Russian expansionism and source for democratic resilience.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 goods, prompted a global trade war that intensified geopolitical rivalries and helped push Germany, Italy, and Japan toward autarky and expansionism.
—Allison Carnegie, Foreign Affairs, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for expansionism
Cite this Entry
“Expansionism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expansionism. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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