as in hostility
tendency to extend power or control over others especially through the use of force
Violent conquer of other nations is one extreme form of imperialism.
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Recent Examples of imperialism
In the era of imperialism in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the great powers divided the globe into spheres of influence.
—
Peter Kornbluh, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
On top of its visual accomplishments, the movie also became known for its messaging on environmentalism and imperialism.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025
Western civilization, capitalism, imperialism—and Christianity itself—were humankind’s enemies.
—Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The fools of twenty-first-century Western imperialism possessed little of the historical literacy, let alone the moral sophistication, of Arendt, Weil, and Camus.
—Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for imperialism
Peter Kornbluh, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
On top of its visual accomplishments, the movie also became known for its messaging on environmentalism and imperialism.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025
Western civilization, capitalism, imperialism—and Christianity itself—were humankind’s enemies.
—Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The fools of twenty-first-century Western imperialism possessed little of the historical literacy, let alone the moral sophistication, of Arendt, Weil, and Camus.
—Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for imperialism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imperialism
Noun
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After years of fighting for its survival in the face of hacks and growing regulatory hostility, crypto’s fortunes abruptly change.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
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Jewish and civil rights groups blasted the move as weakening safeguards, fueling criticism that Mamdani’s early agenda signals hostility toward Israel and the Jewish community.—
Staff,
FOXNews.com,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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His reckless decision to escalate the aggression and number of immigration agents is a causal factor, regardless of the outcome of an investigation into this tragic death.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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When the music dissolves into an ethereal, ambient soundscape and a psychedelic, spiritual journey, that’s where finding the right amount of energy, aggression, violence, and grief, to support the story and to explain things that the dialog couldn’t, was the most challenging part.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Left means more skeptical of militarism, more secular.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
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If Japan seeks to go back to the path of militarism, violate its commitment to peaceful development and disrupt the postwar international order, the Chinese people will not allow it, and the international community will not allow it.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Al-Akkad reserves his harshest criticism not for the obvious warmongers of American empire, explicit in their jingoism and nationalist fervor, but for the decorous liberal centrists, complacent in their institutional comfort, their birthright virtue too easily claimed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Dec. 2025
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That it’s never made clear who fired the missile — everyone’s a possible enemy, though it’s strongly suggested that the North Koreans are ultimately responsible — invites charges of jingoism or at least of a soft embrace of American exceptionalism.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Davion Mitchell’s defense and aggressiveness?—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Jan. 2026
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That aggressiveness defined December.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imperialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperialism. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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