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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But kingdoms don’t abandon their crown jewels easily.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Sep. 2025
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Throughout the Bronze Age and medieval centuries, Armenian vineyards thrived under the rule of kingdoms and monasteries.—
Layne Randolph,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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European nations have moved to increase their defense spending and take more leadership to back Ukraine in its defense against Russia on the assumption that the United States' role is no longer a reliable one.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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But if only a few nations achieve a measure of global AI supremacy, that could have far-reaching impacts on competitiveness, economic and financial power concentration, control over key technologies for modern life, and outsized social and cultural influence.—
John Koetsier,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Their empires cracked, their shadows receded, and their names faded into cautionary tales.—
John Hope Bryant,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
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Writers and rulers across Europe and the Americas have looked back to Virgil’s epic as a model for their own founding myths, in the construction of new nations, new colonies, new empires.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The two countries last month agreed to extend the trade truce by another 90 days, to mid-November.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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Many of the amendments are likely to spark infighting among Republicans as the party battles over whether to become more isolationist in the face of skepticism about assisting foreign countries.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“City-states.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/city-states. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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