as in republics
a state that has its own government and consists of a city and the area around it
the city-states of ancient Greece
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Recent Examples of city-states
Consequently, Persia abandoned its westward expansion, while various Greek city-states formed a tenuous alliance that lasted nearly 50 years.
—
Debbie Felton, The Conversation, 8 Aug. 2025
Debbie Felton, The Conversation, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for city-states
Noun
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Because monkeys bang on typewriters and kingdoms fall.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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America’s most steadfast allies in this bit of the 21st century are the Gulf monarchies, true and unapologetic kingdoms big on pomp and light on participation.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The film contends there has been an 80-year cover-up of the existence of non-human intelligent life and a secret war among major nations to reverse engineer UFO technology.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
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So roughly $300 billion – a 7% gap – separates these three nations and California on this vanity scorecard.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The private luncheon brought together leaders who’ve built empires, broken ceilings, and redefined what success looks like on their own terms.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
13 Oct. 2025
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While Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have not issued any official statement on what transpired at the minister’s residence, it is widely reported that a power struggle is brewing inside one of India’s most powerful business empires.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Both countries claimed higher death tolls than their neighbor acknowledged.—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
15 Oct. 2025
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Kassim-Lakha, who is driving the group’s venture capital efforts, said the company, which employs more than 16,000 people across eight countries in the Middle East, is looking beyond its traditional retail and distribution model to direct brand ownership and development.—
Ritu Upadhyay,
Footwear News,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“City-states.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/city-states. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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