as in dominion
controlling power or influence over others
a nation whose economic imperium waned after the war
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Example Sentences
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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
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The British North America Act came into effect, uniting the separate territories of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into one dominion called Canada.
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Italy has a colonial past, of course, and its government forces committed atrocities in areas under Italian dominion in East Africa between the 1880s and 1941.
Noun
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Complete domination from Portugal in the first half.
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After all, the statistical domination was quite clear.
Noun
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The agreement calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for its sovereignty to be respected.
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Losing, Jose said, would be a devastating blow, not only to the Tohono O’odham, but to all future claims of Indian sovereignty.
Noun
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SpaceX just notched a remarkable launch-dominance milestone.
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At the time of merger talks there was speculation the Gurnee Mariano’s wouldn’t make the cut because of the nearby Jewel’s long-time — the company name has been around since 1932 –market dominance across the region.
Noun
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Hong Kong — China has clinched the top spot on a list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, overtaking the United States for the first time since 2017 with a model powered by homegrown chips amid an intense race for tech supremacy between the two superpowers.
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Colonists had to swear the oath of supremacy to the English monarch, which meant accepting the Church of England.
Cite this Entry
“Imperium.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperium. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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