the Iron Curtain

noun

: the political and military barrier in the past that separated the communist countries of Europe from the rest of Europe
a spy novel that takes place behind the Iron Curtain

Examples of the Iron Curtain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In general, everyday life behind the Iron Curtain followed a familiar pattern that largely removed individual choice. Alice Popovici, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024 My parents took a business trip to the U.S., the Iron Curtain came down, and my brother, my grandparents, and I were immediately detained. Peter Georgescu, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024 After Koudelka himself slipped through the Iron Curtain, his real name became internationally famous. Nicholas Dawidoff, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024 But another key factor was the fall of the Iron Curtain, when modeling scouts started looking for talent in the former Soviet Union. Eliza Brooke, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2023 For its part, the U.S. government promoted art that burnished its image as a free and prosperous country, hoping to motivate people behind the Iron Curtain to reject communism. Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 2024 The Berlin Wall fell in part because people behind the Iron Curtain yearned for Mercedes sedans rather than Trabant beaters. Matthew J. Slaughter, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023 On the other side of the Iron Curtain, NASA was doing small-scale experiments in which algae colonies were used to produce atmosphere and food for mice. Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 13 Sep. 2023 This show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis includes work from the 1960s to the 1980s in its exploration of artists living behind the Iron Curtain in Central and Eastern Europe. Peter Plagens, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023

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

Dictionary Entries Near the Iron Curtain

Cite this Entry

“The Iron Curtain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Iron%20Curtain. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

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