: a policy or philosophy favoring restriction (as of trade or immigration)

Examples of restrictionism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Views on immigration may appear poles apart, but in truth, Democrats and Republicans alike set artificial limits on immigration based on a sliding scale of restrictionism. Tanvi Misra, The New Republic, 7 Oct. 2021 Brimelow's book landed just as immigration politics was taking a hard turn toward restrictionism. Nicole Hemmer, CNN, 15 Apr. 2021 Once a lonely cause, restrictionism had grown into a mature movement — an intellectual ecosystem of sorts — with groups specializing in areas as diverse as litigation and voter mobilization. Jason Deparle, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2019 For decades, conventional wisdom held that immigration restrictionism was a political loser. Jason L. Riley, WSJ, 12 Feb. 2019 On the right, the American Conservative — usually sympathetic to immigration restrictionism — ran an op-ed from a scholar at the Cato Institute, which does not share those views. Dara Lind, Vox, 23 July 2018 Peter Navarro and Wilbur Ross are steering him toward a trade war; Stephen Miller, John Kelly, and Jeff Sessions have encouraged his immigration restrictionism. Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, 8 July 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of restrictionism was in 1840

Cite this Entry

“Restrictionism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restrictionism. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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