jingoism

play

noun jin·go·ism \ ˈjiŋ-(ˌ)gō-ˌi-zəm \

Definition of jingoism

:extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

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jingoist

play \ˈjiŋ-(ˌ)gō-ist\ noun or adjective

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jingoistic

play \ˌjiŋ-gō-ˈi-stik\ adjective

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jingoistically

play \ˌjiŋ-gō-ˈi-sti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See jingoism defined for English-language learners

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Examples of jingoism in a Sentence

When the war began many people were caught up in a wave of jingoism.
his loudmouthed jingoism will not win us any foreign allies

Recent Examples of jingoism from the Web

Its first song is still relevant to anyone pondering the Strangelovian strains of American jingoism.

— conor friedersdorf, The Atlantic, "The Dark Matter of America's Foremost Musical Satirist," 16 Aug. 2017
That was back when outward white jingoism was more of a fringe movement.

— danny westneat, The Seattle Times, "The best way to fight neo-Nazis is to … laugh?," 15 Aug. 2017
Shakespeare was a showman, and his Henry plays played to English jingoism and mythmaking.

— jeanette winterson, New York Times, "Shakespeare’s Hot Mess: What We Can Learn From Falstaff," 21 Apr. 2017
The Sun and a majority of the other tabloids appealed to patriotism and jingoism and fears about immigration, and knew exactly what buttons to press.

— dan bilefsky, New York Times, "Alarmed Britons Ask Pollsters: Why Didn’t You Warn Us?," 24 June 2016
Toshiba’s laptop sales have dropped sharply in China amid a slew of bad publicity in the state media, some of it laced with jingoism and anti-Japanese rhetoric.

— reuters, WIRED, "Why China Is Dissing Toshiba," 19 Dec. 2000

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

jingoism Got Its Start in the 19th Century

Jingoism originated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, when many British citizens were hostile toward Russia and felt Britain should intervene in the conflict. Supporters of the cause expressed their sentiments in a music-hall ditty with this refrain: We don't want to fight, yet by jingo if we do,

We've got the ships, we've got the men,
We've got the money, too!
Someone holding the attitude implied in the song became known as a jingo or jingoist, and the attitude itself was dubbed jingoism. The jingo in the tune is probably a euphemism for Jesus.