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
With crops failing and fears of starvation rising, some wealthy Italian city-states like Florence and Venice imported grain from elsewhere in the world.
—
Evan Bush, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025
An ensuing grain shortage threatened to spark a famine or civil unrest, so Italian city-states, such as Venice and Genoa, resorted to emergency imports from the Black Sea region, which helped keep the population fed.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 4 Dec. 2025
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
Evan Bush, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025
An ensuing grain shortage threatened to spark a famine or civil unrest, so Italian city-states, such as Venice and Genoa, resorted to emergency imports from the Black Sea region, which helped keep the population fed.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 4 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for city-states
Noun
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But these are relatively new arrivals on Earth; all three kingdoms are less than one billion years old.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
17 Feb. 2026
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Discovering a site like this allows archaeologists to further understand the culture and society of early medieval England, when the country was fragmented into several kingdoms but rulers like Offa were beginning to unify it and Alfred the Great was fighting off Viking invaders.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As more than 10 nations in Europe are participating in the F-35 program, this raises concerns related to Trump’s tariff-heavy diplomacy.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
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The sweeping tariff drawdown makes way for individual nations to negotiate bilateral agreements for economic partnership and development, which will further expand market access, Xi said in his statement.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And, lately, the country’s ultrarich have been behaving like modern-day land barons, quietly assembling empires measured not just in acres but in square miles and state sizes.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
10 Feb. 2026
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But empires fall, and dynasties crumble.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Policymakers globally are increasingly worried that the unequal adoption of AI risks widening income and development gaps between rich and poor countries.—
Hanna Ziady,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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Permanent-residency applications from more than seventy countries have been frozen, naturalization ceremonies cancelled.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“City-states.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/city-states. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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