mil·le·nar·i·an
ˌmi-lə-ˈner-ē-ən 
1
a
: of or relating to belief in a millennium
2
: of or relating to 1000 years
: one that believes in a millennium
Examples of millenarian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Many rebellions against China’s official rulers came from millenarian groups and religious cults that sprang up among the oppressed.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Carlson is practically millenarian.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 16 Sep. 2021
America, in his presidency, was an assertive participant in the world—beating back communist encroachment in Latin America and calling the Soviets’ bluff in the Cold War arms race—but without George W. Bush’s millenarian overreach.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2023
The fundamentalist mind-set is apocalyptic and millenarian.
—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2022
The centerpiece of this millenarian fantasy is the 57,000-square-feet, three-story sandstone temple being constructed in Ayodhya.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 13 Apr. 2022
The hair-shirt approach advocated by progressive opinion in the advanced world reflects the quasi-millenarian thinking so characteristic of many climate warriors and the command-and-control instincts of the modern governing class.
—The Editors, National Review, 13 Aug. 2021
Apocalyptic or millenarian thinking is a fixture in the homeless community.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 10 June 2020
Yuri Slezkine, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Adjective
The latter — driven by an apocalyptic, millenarian creed — had embarked on a frenzy of killing, torture, grisly execution and abductions of civilians from communities of supposed apostates and enemies.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Many rebellions against China’s official rulers came from millenarian groups and religious cults that sprang up among the oppressed.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Carlson is practically millenarian.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 16 Sep. 2021
America, in his presidency, was an assertive participant in the world—beating back communist encroachment in Latin America and calling the Soviets’ bluff in the Cold War arms race—but without George W. Bush’s millenarian overreach.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2023
The fundamentalist mind-set is apocalyptic and millenarian.
—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2022
The centerpiece of this millenarian fantasy is the 57,000-square-feet, three-story sandstone temple being constructed in Ayodhya.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 13 Apr. 2022
The hair-shirt approach advocated by progressive opinion in the advanced world reflects the quasi-millenarian thinking so characteristic of many climate warriors and the command-and-control instincts of the modern governing class.
—The Editors, National Review, 13 Aug. 2021
Apocalyptic or millenarian thinking is a fixture in the homeless community.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 10 June 2020
Noun
In his view, the early Bolsheviks—a closed group of compulsive readers, prolific writers, and utopian thinkers—were an apocalyptic sect, fervent and coercive proselytizers Slezkine likens to various millenarians, such as Münster Anabaptists or Branch Davidians.
—Yuri Slezkine, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'millenarian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near millenarian
Cite this Entry
“Millenarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millenarian. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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