as in dominion
controlling power or influence over others
a nation whose economic imperium waned after the war
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Recent Examples of imperium
Everyone in the imperium knows the emperor is a nincompoop—and yet no one wants to go out on a limb to criticize him.
—
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
The Islamic Republic of Iran is motivated by a desire to bring about the end times and usher in an everlasting Islamic imperium.
—Mike Coté, National Review, 20 July 2025
Nintendo has built a reputation on its willingness to catch fans off-guard, and a shutterbug adventure was the last thing anyone expected at the zenith of Pokemon’s imperium.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Poland, through a protest movement, led the liberation of Europe from the Soviet imperium, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
Even the Commonwealth—long a convenient way to sustain a more symbolic form of cultural imperium—has lost much of its meaning.
—Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
The Islamic Republic of Iran is motivated by a desire to bring about the end times and usher in an everlasting Islamic imperium.
—Mike Coté, National Review, 20 July 2025
Nintendo has built a reputation on its willingness to catch fans off-guard, and a shutterbug adventure was the last thing anyone expected at the zenith of Pokemon’s imperium.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Poland, through a protest movement, led the liberation of Europe from the Soviet imperium, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
Even the Commonwealth—long a convenient way to sustain a more symbolic form of cultural imperium—has lost much of its meaning.
—Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imperium
Noun
-
The driver is dominion, not religion.—
Josef Joffe,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Cosmological queries were the dominion of philosophers, says Jenann Ismael—herself a philosopher of physics at Johns Hopkins University.—
Sarah Scoles,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The reasons for this domination are simple.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Some Republican states are pushing to reduce the American Bar Association’s long domination in accrediting law schools.—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Suggesting even nominal support for Israeli sovereignty over much of the Middle East is an unprecedented departure from American foreign policy.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
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This unit will also enforce Florida’s existing foreign adversary laws — including restrictions on land ownership — and expand accountability to companies and individuals aligned with hostile regimes that threaten Floridians’ privacy, security and sovereignty.—
February 17,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Netherlands’ Xandra Velzeboer won the short track 1,000 meters on Monday, claiming her second gold at the Winter Games and extending Dutch dominance of the competition.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The growing instability of the Seven Kingdoms after centuries of Targaryen dominance.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Around this time, the city-state of Carthage, in what is now Tunisia, was battling with the Roman Republic for supremacy in the Mediterranean.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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The pastoralist Maasai people, for instance, who also live in the region, have successfully been vying for supremacy with lions for hundreds of years.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imperium.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperium. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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