iron curtain

Definition of iron curtain

1 : an impenetrable barrier the iron curtain between the ego and the unconscious— C. J. Rolo

2 : a political, military, and ideological barrier that cuts off and isolates an area specifically, often capitalized : one formerly isolating an area under Soviet control

Examples of iron curtain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Or will an iron curtain of incompatibility separate them? — Tom Gliatto, PEOPLE.com, "The Best TV Shows of the Decade, from Game of Thrones to Stranger Things," 23 Dec. 2019 Joanna pulled open the iron curtain with an album called Red Wave. — Andrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Ludovico: The piano’s quiet rock star talks about his first Houston concert," 11 July 2018 No matter what happens in the realm of trade, a digital iron curtain – which separates the world into two distinct technological spheres of influence – will continue to be drawn. — Tim Culpan, latimes.com, "Easing Huawei restrictions may help trade, but won’t stop the China tech battle," 1 July 2019 Ben Inker, head of asset allocation at Boston’s Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo, sees little sign that the markets are pricing in a long-lasting new iron curtain descending on technology. — James Mackintosh, WSJ, "Investors Slowly Wake Up to Fears of a New Cold War," 23 May 2019 Joanna pulled open the iron curtain with an album called Red Wave. — Andrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Ludovico: The piano’s quiet rock star talks about his first Houston concert," 11 July 2018 Trade has always been the iron curtain that divided Mr. Trump and establishment Republicans. — Peter Baker, New York Times, "An Important Voice for Free Trade Proponents Goes Silent," 6 Mar. 2018 Joanna pulled open the iron curtain with an album called Red Wave. — Don Maines, Houston Chronicle, "Teen had to choose: Disney trip or key role in ‘Mockingbird’ production," 15 June 2018 The first, Métamorphoses Nocturnes, was composed between 1953-’54 when Hungary was isolated deep behind the iron curtain. — Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, "A season-long focus on the music of Hungarian composer György Ligeti opens with a performance by the peerless Arditti Quartet," 12 Oct. 2017

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about iron curtain

Dictionary Entries near iron curtain

Statistics for iron curtain

Last Updated

30 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Iron curtain.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/iron%20curtain. Accessed 18 January 2020.

WORD OF THE DAY

vicarious

experienced by way of someone else

Test Your Vocabulary

The Eponym Quiz

Which is the best synonym of bowdlerize?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.