imperium
noun
im·pe·ri·um
im-ˈpir-ē-əm 
1
2
: the right to command or to employ the force of the state : sovereignty
Examples of imperium in a Sentence
a nation whose economic imperium waned after the war
Recent Examples on the Web
Everyone in the imperium knows the emperor is a nincompoop—and yet no one wants to go out on a limb to criticize him.
—
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
The Islamic Republic of Iran is motivated by a desire to bring about the end times and usher in an everlasting Islamic imperium.
—Mike Coté, National Review, 20 July 2025
Nintendo has built a reputation on its willingness to catch fans off-guard, and a shutterbug adventure was the last thing anyone expected at the zenith of Pokemon’s imperium.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Poland, through a protest movement, led the liberation of Europe from the Soviet imperium, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
But unlike the familiar realm of the Caesars, this imperium doesn’t govern only humans: Talking beasts also live as citizens in the empire.
—Liz Braswell, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2023
Even the Commonwealth—long a convenient way to sustain a more symbolic form of cultural imperium—has lost much of its meaning.
—Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023
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Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
The Islamic Republic of Iran is motivated by a desire to bring about the end times and usher in an everlasting Islamic imperium.
—Mike Coté, National Review, 20 July 2025
Nintendo has built a reputation on its willingness to catch fans off-guard, and a shutterbug adventure was the last thing anyone expected at the zenith of Pokemon’s imperium.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Poland, through a protest movement, led the liberation of Europe from the Soviet imperium, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
But unlike the familiar realm of the Caesars, this imperium doesn’t govern only humans: Talking beasts also live as citizens in the empire.
—Liz Braswell, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2023
Even the Commonwealth—long a convenient way to sustain a more symbolic form of cultural imperium—has lost much of its meaning.
—Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Imperium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperium. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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