mil·le·nar·i·an
ˌmi-lə-ˈner-ē-ən 
1
a
: of or relating to belief in a millennium
2
: of or relating to 1000 years
: one that believes in a millennium
Examples of millenarian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Editors, National Review, 17 Apr. 2025
There is a millenarian energy in the air, a wild hope for change that veers easily into the fear of civil war.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024
These fantastic millenarian goals motivate Netanyahu’s most extreme allies, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, in their fervent desire to see Trump elected.
—Caise D. Hassan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Oct. 2024
The latter — driven by an apocalyptic, millenarian creed — had embarked on a frenzy of killing, torture, grisly execution and abductions of civilians from communities of supposed apostates and enemies.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Many rebellions against China’s official rulers came from millenarian groups and religious cults that sprang up among the oppressed.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Carlson is practically millenarian.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 16 Sep. 2021
America, in his presidency, was an assertive participant in the world—beating back communist encroachment in Latin America and calling the Soviets’ bluff in the Cold War arms race—but without George W. Bush’s millenarian overreach.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2023
The fundamentalist mind-set is apocalyptic and millenarian.
—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2022
Yuri Slezkine, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
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Adjective
Jerusalem has reason to greatly fear a millenarian regime with an eschatological worldview that has already demonstrated a willingness and ability to overwhelm Israeli air defenses and deliver warheads over its cities.
—The Editors, National Review, 17 Apr. 2025
There is a millenarian energy in the air, a wild hope for change that veers easily into the fear of civil war.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024
These fantastic millenarian goals motivate Netanyahu’s most extreme allies, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, in their fervent desire to see Trump elected.
—Caise D. Hassan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Oct. 2024
The latter — driven by an apocalyptic, millenarian creed — had embarked on a frenzy of killing, torture, grisly execution and abductions of civilians from communities of supposed apostates and enemies.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Many rebellions against China’s official rulers came from millenarian groups and religious cults that sprang up among the oppressed.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Carlson is practically millenarian.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 16 Sep. 2021
America, in his presidency, was an assertive participant in the world—beating back communist encroachment in Latin America and calling the Soviets’ bluff in the Cold War arms race—but without George W. Bush’s millenarian overreach.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2023
The fundamentalist mind-set is apocalyptic and millenarian.
—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2022
Noun
In his view, the early Bolsheviks—a closed group of compulsive readers, prolific writers, and utopian thinkers—were an apocalyptic sect, fervent and coercive proselytizers Slezkine likens to various millenarians, such as Münster Anabaptists or Branch Davidians.
—Yuri Slezkine, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Millenarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millenarian. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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