territorialism

noun

ter·​ri·​to·​ri·​al·​ism ˌter-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-ə-ˌli-zəm How to pronounce territorialism (audio)
1
2
: the principle established in 1555 requiring the inhabitants of a territory of the Holy Roman Empire to conform to the religion of their ruler or to emigrate
territorialist noun

Examples of territorialism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web To an outsider, the downsides of this kind of responsibility-siloing were obvious: a lack of trust throughout the organization, territorialism, and little incentive in working toward—and, when necessary, accepting tradeoffs in service of—a unified company mission. Ron Carucci, Forbes, 19 May 2021 While some might feel a sense of territorialism over their creation, as a veteran of the blogging world, Wilson acknowledges that’s not how things work in the recipe sphere. Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2023 Siloes, fiefdoms and territorialism can be killers of organizational performance that results from disconnected activities and incoherent customer experiences. John Ellett, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 Noncollaboration and territorialism breed divisiveness and often result in painful and detrimental outcomes. John Daugherty, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2022 Issues such as Hawaiian sovereignty, territorialism and the islands’ historical and present-day issues with mainland decisions are deftly addressed in the Koa Kāne novels, but McGraw presents them in a way that doesn’t feel preachy or appropriative. Seth Combs Writer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2022 This territorialism, says Gehrt, could be a factor that will limit their spread. National Geographic, 29 Nov. 2019 The leaders also see growing territorialism and climate change as the top risks to their businesses from overseas. Sangeeta Tanwar, Quartz India, 11 July 2019 Experts say the turkey’s extreme territorialism, especially in males, programs them to assert their dominance — whether over another turkey or a human. Aditi Shrikant, BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'territorialism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of territorialism was in 1881

Dictionary Entries Near territorialism

Cite this Entry

“Territorialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/territorialism. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!