postimperial
adjective
post·im·pe·ri·al
ˌpōst-im-ˈpir-ē-əl 
: of, relating to, or occurring in the period following the dissolution of an empire
postimperial Britain
Although the postwar system of international relations was not static, it is right to call it postimperial.—
Robert Skidelsky
Robert SkidelskyExamples of postimperial in a Sentence
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From the very beginning, then, joining Europe was motivated not by some Damascene realization that decline was inevitable—an acceptance of postimperial reality—but by the belief that such decline could be averted.
—Tom McTague, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2022
Against this harsh reality, the submarine deal appears to reflect a declining superpower, riven by internal discord and imperiled by democratic collapse, leading a diminished postimperial power down a cul-de-sac of geopolitical irrelevance.
—Jonathan Stevenson, The New York Review of Books, 13 Oct. 2021
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Tom McTague, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2022
Against this harsh reality, the submarine deal appears to reflect a declining superpower, riven by internal discord and imperiled by democratic collapse, leading a diminished postimperial power down a cul-de-sac of geopolitical irrelevance.
—Jonathan Stevenson, The New York Review of Books, 13 Oct. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Postimperial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postimperial. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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