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-shnəl 

-shə-nᵊl

adjective

annexationist

ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

It’s seen here before annexation in 1889, in city plans from 1962 and 1993, and in academic research from 2007. —Beth Nakamura, The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, 30 May 2023

Those areas all lie in the city’s police jurisdiction, a belt of land that extends three miles outside of the city limits, something that annexation advocates argue may be going away soon. —Margaret Kates | [e-mail], al, 16 May 2023

The City Council voted on both the annexation and rezoning of 19.4 acres of land, located about a quarter-mile west of the southwest corner of Thomas Road and Jackrabbit Trail. —Alexandra Hardle, The Arizona Republic, 5 May 2023

The traditional view of many historians — including ancient Roman chroniclers — is that the Roman annexation was peaceful. —Jeremy Hillpot, Discover Magazine, 18 Apr. 2023

Ukraine has indeed been interested in cooperating with NATO, but this interest was generated primarily by Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014. —Daniel Foster, National Review, 13 Apr. 2023

The 12-mile bridge was constructed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and provides road and rail links to Russia. —Adam Taylor, Júlia Ledur, Francesca Ebel And Mary Ilyushina, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Apr. 2023

On Friday, Russian occupation officials formally declared Melitopol to be the new regional capital of Zaporizhzhia, a sign both of Russia’s stubborn annexation claims but also of its failure to capture the actual regional capital: Zaporizhzhia city, which lies just east of Dnieper River. —Missy Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Mar. 2023

Israel’s annexation of east Jerusalem is also not recognized by most countries. —Paul Goldman, NBC News, 23 Jan. 2023

See More

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1