expansionism

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noun (1)

ex·​pan·​sion·​ism ik-ˈspan(t)-shə-ˌni-zəm 

: a policy or practice of expansion and especially of territorial expansion by a nation

expansionist

ik-ˈspan(t)-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

expansionist adjective

or less commonly expansionistic

ik-ˌspan(t)-shə-ˈni-stik 

expansionist

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noun (2)

ex·​pan·​sion·​ist -ch(ə)nə̇st 

plural -s

: one who favors expansionism:

a

: an advocate of an enlarged paper currency

b

: an advocate of territorial expansion

expansionist

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adjective

"

: practicing, advocating, or tending toward expansion

specifically : pressing for a policy of extending a nation's political and economic dominance

we must make it perfectly clear that we are not ourselves expansionist

—H. L. Stimson

Examples of expansionism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Manila’s Teodoro struck the most combative tone, saying that China expansionism continues unabated. —Lim Hui Jie,joanna Ossinger, CNBC, 31 May 2026

Yet the picture is more complicated than simple Chinese expansionism. —Yu Jie, Time, 13 May 2026

Putin’s expansionism is the latest iteration of Moscow’s longstanding foreign policy objectives, centered on pushing out frontiers to more defensible positions and reaffirming Russia’s status as a great power. —Liam Denning, Bloomberg, 12 Mar. 2026

Habermas’s near-total indifference to European colonialism—let alone Israel’s violent expansionism and the darker history of capitalism—has long made his philosophy look historically naïve. —Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1899, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for expansionism

• activism
• albinism
• altruism
• aneurism
• animism
• aphorism
• atomism
• barbarism
• bolshevism
• botulism
• brahmanism
• calvinism