Synonyms of city-states

city-states

noun

plural of city-state

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

Related Words

• republics
• kingdoms
• nations
• empires
• countries
• duchies
• nation-states
• principalities
• commonwealths
• provinces
• sultanates
• domains
• settlements
• democracies
• monarchies
• microstates
• lands
• dictatorships
• emirates
• ministates
• sovereigns
• dominions
• theocracies
• sovereignties
• realms
• dukedoms
• homelands
• colonies
• oligarchies
• dependencies
• seigniories
• mandates
• client states
• superpowers
• soil
• trust territories
• monocracies
• condominiums
• world powers
• great powers
• fatherlands
• sea powers
• welfare states
• powers
• motherlands

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of city-states

As conditions worsened, city-states fought over power and resources. — Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

As children, Vi and Jinx lose their parents in an abortive revolution in Zaun, and years later find themselves on opposite sides of an unfolding power struggle between the two city-states. — David Faris, TheWeek, 22 May 2026

With very few exceptions, an end was declared, not only to empires, but also to city-states, duchies, principalities, emirates, sultanates, caliphates, khanates, agencies, princely states, colonies, suzerains, dependencies, mandates, tributaries, condominia and protectorates. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026

His route to Sparta would have taken him through Corinth, Nemea, and Arcadia and avoided kingdoms or city-states not allied with Athens. — Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Mar. 2026

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