foreign affairs

plural noun

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Definition of foreign affairs

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

Recent Examples of foreign affairs from the Web

The Russian state has never interfered and has no intention of interfering in the U.S. elections,’’ Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday.

— eric tucker, BostonGlobe.com, "Moscow accused of US election meddling in indictment," 13 July 2018
Putin has been at this for 20 years — and has met with four U.S. presidents, and has been working foreign affairs and international security issues his whole life.

— joshua tucker, Washington Post, "Will it be ‘happy talk’ — or will Trump and Putin focus on arms control and other critical issues?," 13 July 2018
But the North Korean dictator did not meet with Pompeo during his visit this month, viewed widely by foreign affairs analysts as an intentional slight given that the two had met on Pompeo's two previous visits to Pyongyang.

— david nakamura, chicagotribune.com, "Trump releases 'nice note' from Kim Jong Un praising progress despite setbacks in talks," 12 July 2018
The minister of foreign affairs summoned the ambassador for a scolding.

— New York Times, "In Troubled Cameroon, U.S. Envoy Is Accused of Election Meddling," 12 July 2018
Bob Seely, a Tory lawmaker and member of the foreign affairs parliamentary commitee, saw grounds to be concerned about what Trump might do.

— robert hutton, Bloomberg.com, "U.K. Worries About What Trump Could Promise Putin," 28 June 2018
The embassy was bombarded by phone calls thanking South Koreans, Korea's Yonhap news agency said, including one from Mexico's undersecretary for foreign affairs.

— afp, chicagotribune.com, "'We are all Koreans;' Mexico fans mob Korean embassy after World Cup victory," 28 June 2018
Uganda’s minister of state for foreign affairs told the Associated Press.

— brian goldstone, The New Republic, "Essential reporting, interpretation, and opinion on politics and culture. Don't miss our latest.," 26 June 2018
The United Arab Emirates’ minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said that the battle over Hodeida is essential to break a stalemate in the civil war, which otherwise could drag on for years.

— Washington Post, "Fierce fighting intensifies outside Yemen’s Hodeida airport," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foreign affairs.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.