unilateralism

noun

uni·​lat·​er·​al·​ism ˌyü-ni-ˈla-t(ə-)rə-ˌli-zəm 

: a policy of taking unilateral action (as in international affairs) regardless of outside support or reciprocity

also : advocacy of such a policy

unilateralist

ˌyü-ni-ˈla-t(ə-)rə-list 

noun or adjective

Examples of unilateralism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That procurement focus arose out of decades of decisions—about how the United States wanted to fight after the Vietnam War, about the lessons that should be drawn from the Gulf War, and about defense investments during a period of U.S. unilateralism. —Jacquelyn Schneider, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2025

These fundamentals have driven the Republican Party at both the mass and elite levels to be ideologically extreme and antidemocratic and to embrace unconstrained unilateralism as the prime means of controlling and diminishing the progressive administrative state. —Terry M. Moe, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025

And the Trump administration has framed its unilateralism as a necessary response to China’s actions. —Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025

And working with allies and partners fit with the Biden administration’s overall preference for diplomacy over unilateralism. —Nikita Lalwani, Foreign Affairs, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unilateralism

• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism
• anticommunism
• antisemitism
• antiterrorism
• bioterrorism
• colloquialism
• colonialism
• consequentialism
• contextualism
• conventionalism