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

In addition to not being very neighborly, annexation to make way for a Buc-ee’s is bound to change the entire region. —John W. Suthers, Denver Post, 30 July 2025

Last week, the Israeli government also passed a non-binding motion for the annexation of the West Bank before the Knesset began a three-month recess. —Callum Sutherland, Time, 29 July 2025

The annexation came after the International Court of Justice ruled Morocco did not have sovereignty over the area, and the United Nations does not officially recognize its claim and instead classifies Western Sahara as a non-self governing territory. —Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025

Sources familiar with the matter say Israel's warnings to France have ranged from scaling back intelligence sharing to complicating Paris' regional initiatives - even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank. —John Irish, USA Today, 25 July 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