annexation

noun

an·​nex·​a·​tion ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-shən 

plural annexations

1

: the act of annexing something or the state of being annexed : the addition of an area or region to a country, state, etc.

The Senate rejected the Hawaiian reciprocity treaty, the purchase of the Virgin Islands from Denmark, the annexation of Santo Domingo and the annexation of Samoa.

—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

In the early part of the 20th century, Chinese writers generally dated the annexation of Tibet to the 18th century.

—Elliot Sperling

2

: something that is annexed

… defended their annexations with fire and sword.

—George Bernard Shaw

annexational

ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

annexationist

ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

Examples of annexation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And that coalition wants West Bank annexation. —Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 11 Sep. 2025

Since the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Putin had been shunted to the fringes of summit group photos. —Alexandra Vacroux, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025

The fire district was then acquired by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District through annexation in 2022. —Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 9 Sep. 2025

Meanwhile, Israel’s cabinet stepped back from discussing potential annexation of the West Bank. —Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for annexation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation