as in domination
the act or process of bringing someone or something under one's control
the conquest of much of North and South America by the Spanish during the 16th century
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Recent Examples of conquest
Timothée Chalamet returns alongside Zendaya and Florence Pugh as the film turns away from conquest and toward consequence.
—
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
After Napoleon Bonaparte’s conquest of Malta, Nicolas-Louis returned to Reims from his home in Malta to manage the family’s exports with the singular goal of making Delamotte available in every major city in Europe and eventually the world.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2025
Unlike earlier revisionist powers, China intends to complete its ascent through the steady accumulation of economic power and influence rather than through military conquest.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Benin City, in southern Nigeria, has risen from a history marked by conquest and loss to become a bustling urban center of more than 2 million residents.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conquest
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
After Napoleon Bonaparte’s conquest of Malta, Nicolas-Louis returned to Reims from his home in Malta to manage the family’s exports with the singular goal of making Delamotte available in every major city in Europe and eventually the world.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2025
Unlike earlier revisionist powers, China intends to complete its ascent through the steady accumulation of economic power and influence rather than through military conquest.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Benin City, in southern Nigeria, has risen from a history marked by conquest and loss to become a bustling urban center of more than 2 million residents.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conquest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conquest
Noun
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Experts are concerned about China’s domination of the world market for rare-earth minerals, which are essential to the equipment that powers much of modern life.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
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Everything else is a euphemism for old fashioned domination that the region has spent generations trying to escape.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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If the approval of the most important tastemakers (gay people) wasn’t enough, The New Yorker had crowned Industry as the best TV show of 2024, with the show dominating critics’ year-end lists, from Vanity Fair to Vulture and The Guardian.—
Louis Staples,
Glamour,
12 Jan. 2026
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Essentially, the Golden Globes TV honors were a redux of the TV Academy’s Emmy Awards winners with The Pitt, The Studio and Adolescence dominating both.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This aggressive subjugation of a country that was not, in fact, a threat to the United States doesn’t make America safer or more prosperous and likely makes the whole region less stable.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Jan. 2026
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This level of dealmaking far exceeds the bowling alley bets and small-time street gambles that have shaped Marty’s way of moving in the world, and Rockwell represents the kind of ruthless American capitalism and competition that requires humiliation and subjugation.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
25 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Conquest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conquest. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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