foreign affairs

plural noun

: matters having to do with international relations and with the interests of the home country in foreign countries

Examples of foreign affairs in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Andrea Mitchell Andrea Mitchell is chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News. Abigail Williams, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2023 Chile is paying attention to gender equality in its foreign affairs. Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Sep. 2023 Ramaswamy unveiled his foreign policy vision at the Nixon Presidential Library Thursday, promoting a vision with less involvement in foreign affairs that do not directly concern the U.S. Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2023 Senegal’s foreign affairs minister, Anette Seck, said 38 people were rescued out of the 101, one of whom was not yet in a condition to travel. Reuters, CNN, 22 Aug. 2023 Our political system gives presidents vast power to act unilaterally in foreign affairs — more than on domestic policy, where Congress often gets in the way. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2023 An epochal shift in how the Republican Party conducts America’s foreign affairs began on April 27, 2016. Noah Rothman, National Review, 24 Aug. 2023 Why study in Denver for a career in foreign affairs? Foreign Affairs, 9 Aug. 2023 According to Senegal’s foreign affairs ministry, 38 people were rescued earlier in the week near Cape Verde, about 385 miles off the coast of West Africa. Zane Irwin, USA TODAY, 18 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foreign affairs.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foreign affairs was in 1611

Dictionary Entries Near foreign affairs

Cite this Entry

“Foreign affairs.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreign%20affairs. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.

More from Merriam-Webster on foreign affairs

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