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

Most members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party skipped the vote or abstained, save for one lawmaker who cast the deciding vote to advance the annexation bill. —Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025

There are other steps that need to be taken before the annexation can proceed. —Kate Wolffe october 23, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025

Dozens of city meetings hashed out annexations, zoning, a development agreement and $458 million in tax incremental financing with a separate operator company. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025

Netanyahu himself has not been explicit about annexation since a past election pledge was scrapped in 2020 in favour of normalising ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. —Reuters, NBC news, 22 Oct. 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