territorialism

noun ter·ri·to·ri·al·ism \ ˌter-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-ə-ˌli-zəm \

|Updated on: 28 Jul 2018

Definition of territorialism

1 : landlordism

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

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territorialist

play \ˌter-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-ə-list\ noun

Recent Examples of territorialism from the Web

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, "When wild animals urbanize," 13 July 2018
Accounts of bullying for Birds and territorialism over Limes are showing up across the internet, complete with reports of break-ins and shakedowns.

— anna-sofia lesiv, The Seattle Times, "The cutthroat turf war behind the race to charge Bay Area electric scooters," 10 July 2018
The less kindly purpose, though valuable in its own right, is to signal to Bro that any territorialism around their couple time is coming from inside his house!!

— carolyn hax, idahostatesman, "Brother and his new wife perceive every invitation as a threat to couple time | Idaho Statesman," 9 Jan. 2018
Hill: There’s a certain territorialism that comes along with being a fan of something for a long time when new fans come along.

— USA TODAY, "How 'Doctor Who' landed in America: New book tells the story," 21 Aug. 2017
All agreed that fear of failure remains a significant barrier to internal innovation, but so does territorialism, warns Wadwhani.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "How to Get a Fortune 500 Company to Act Like a Startup," 18 July 2017
Using factors such as territorialism of the bluebirds and the amount of feeding space in the Village, Hensen launched an effort to reduce the number of bluebird nesting boxes.

— emily rasmussen, Orange County Register, "Bluebirds seeking new digs after houses removed," 18 Apr. 2017
Living at such close quarters intensifies the lions’ natural territorialism; in this population, the leading cause of death is conflict with other lions.

— dana goodyear, The New Yorker, "Lions of Los Angeles," 13 Feb. 2017

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