expansionism
noun
ex·pan·sion·ism
ik-ˈspan(t)-shə-ˌni-zəm 
: a policy or practice of expansion and especially of territorial expansion by a nation
Examples of expansionism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The public, according to polls, does not support the President’s expansionism.
—
Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2026
The Cuban government, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, sees American expansionism as embedded in U.S. history - beginning shortly after independence with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the United States began systematically pushing European powers out of the hemisphere.
—Eyder Peralta, NPR, 5 Jan. 2026
Beijing is likely to respond with diplomatic criticism and even economic coercion if Takaichi increases Tokyo’s support of Taiwan, counters China’s maritime expansionism, or manages to revise Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Given the Normans’ brutal treatment of the English and their subsequent expansion across the Mediterranean, there are undeniable parallels between 1066 and later spasms of European expansionism.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
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Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2026
The Cuban government, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, sees American expansionism as embedded in U.S. history - beginning shortly after independence with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the United States began systematically pushing European powers out of the hemisphere.
—Eyder Peralta, NPR, 5 Jan. 2026
Beijing is likely to respond with diplomatic criticism and even economic coercion if Takaichi increases Tokyo’s support of Taiwan, counters China’s maritime expansionism, or manages to revise Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Given the Normans’ brutal treatment of the English and their subsequent expansion across the Mediterranean, there are undeniable parallels between 1066 and later spasms of European expansionism.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expansionism
Cite this Entry
“Expansionism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expansionism. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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