cordon sanitaire

noun

cor·​don sa·​ni·​taire kȯr-ˌdōⁿ-sä-nē-ˈter How to pronounce cordon sanitaire (audio)
: a protective barrier (as of buffer states) against a potentially aggressive nation or a dangerous influence (such as an ideology)

Examples of cordon sanitaire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That’s why counties like Los Angeles have kept up vigilant monitoring and fly-murdering programs, sometimes with new tools, to protect the state’s agricultural cordon sanitaire from Napa and Sonoma to the Mexican border. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024 More specifically, in Saxony and Thuringia, the cordon sanitaire around the AfD will mean that forming local governments in the two states will be difficult, and a strange compromise between the either the BSW or ‘Die Linke’ and the CDU may need to be found. Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024 In both states, mainstream parties have limited the reach of extremists by forming a cordon sanitaire, or buffer, around their most dangerous actors. Rachel Kleinfeld, Foreign Affairs, 19 July 2024 The cordon sanitaire has previously helped to keep extremists out of government. Christian Edwards, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 Then, in the twenty-tens, the cordon sanitaire began to break down. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 30 June 2023 Are those who want a cordon sanitaire against these sorts of cultural values without any foundation in reality? Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 Nov. 2010 Last year’s event operated largely behind a cordon sanitaire and without many foreign participants. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Oct. 2022 Indeed, the very fact that the U.S. is sending troops to Romania and Poland, creating in effect a cordon sanitaire, shows that Biden is far more concerned about spillover from a war in Ukraine than Ukraine itself. Michael A. Cohen, The New Republic, 11 Feb. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cordon sanitaire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, literally, "sanitary cordon," originally in reference to a line of military posts or other barriers enclosing a community stricken by an infectious disease

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cordon sanitaire was in 1920

Dictionary Entries Near cordon sanitaire

Cite this Entry

“Cordon sanitaire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cordon%20sanitaire. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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