nation-state

noun

na·​tion-state ˈnā-shən-ˈstāt 

-ˌstāt

: a form of political organization under which a relatively homogeneous people inhabits a sovereign state

especially : a state containing one as opposed to several nationalities

Examples of nation-state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While its digitization capabilities are far more robust than many nation-states, the Internet Archive’s position in an increasingly vituperative battleground between copyright holders and tech companies means that its future is precarious, too. —Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 8 Apr. 2024

The March 22 Moscow massacre was designed, like all dramatic terrorist attacks, to raise ISKP’s profile not only among nation-states but also among the disaffected who might be considering ISIS as a violent alternative to life. —Fatema Hosseini, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2024

However, the potential for sabotage, particularly by nation-states, is a growing concern. —Robin Chataut, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2024

For example, if the government is working on reverse-engineering technologies, those technologies are likely from advanced adversary nation-states like China, Russia, and Iran, and perhaps even quasi-allies like Israel that may be more limited in their technology-sharing with the US. —Garrett M. Graff, WIRED, 11 Mar. 2024

There is one fix that would help on all three fronts: an Israeli government prepared to begin the process of building two nation-states for two people with a Palestinian Authority that is truly ready and willing to transform itself. —Thomas L. Friedman, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024

In the universe of Dune, every noble house has a nuclear arsenal (since these great families have essentially taken the place of nation-states) but are forbidden from using them against each other. —Christian Holub, EW.com, 1 Mar. 2024

But because these attacks happen in cyberspace, the battlefield is less tangible, and nation-state attacks blend in with service outages like AT&T’s, which turned out to be a software update gone awry and not a cyberattack. —Eric Noonan, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024

But in a world of nation-state attackers and the kind of content being secured, the risk—at some point—will become real. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above