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
-
During the Cold War, Radio Free Europe broadcast news to parts of Eastern Europe that were under Communist dominion.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
-
His strong-arming of universities, law firms, and media companies is a response to real problems, but his actions seem aimed more at harming those entities—and expanding his dominion over them—than at crafting enduring fixes.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, far from trending toward retail domination, US e-commerce growth is flattening.—
Greg Petro,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
As the 1950s rolled into the 1960s, more and more African countries were freeing themselves from European colonial domination; this wave of liberation prompted the emergence of liberation movements in South Africa and anti-apartheid protests.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The ruling on the injunction focused on the argument by Minnesota officials that the federal government is violating the Constitution’s 10th Amendment, which limits the federal government’s powers to infringe on the sovereignty of states.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Those records were also used to aid federal assimilation efforts and chip away at tribal sovereignty, communal lands and identity.—
Graham Lee Brewer,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But the center re-established his dominance against the smaller Warriors on Monday, finishing with 15 points and 17 rebounds while serving as a significant deterrent on the defensive interior.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The English striker has set all kinds of scoring records in the German top division and has spearheaded a Bayern Munich team that is establishing a new level of dominance.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Trump has taken this tradition to its logical extreme by exempting from legal consequences his supporters and those following his instructions—seeming to assert his supremacy over not just federal but state laws, which exceeds even the wide powers conferred by the Constitution.—
Bernadette Meyler,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Conference supremacy After the SEC's 10 ranked teams, the Big Ten is next with seven.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imperium.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperium. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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