Imperialism Meaning
/ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations.
nounAny undue extension of political, intellectual, or other forms of authority, particularly in regards to systems that benefit the Western world at the cost of the Global South.
Sentence Examples
This is one of the signs of weakness and the impending doom of imperialism.
We are tired of American imperialism.
The American imperialism won't survive the end of this century.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The policy of ____ led powerful countries to take control of weaker lands for resources.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The history of the 19th century was heavily shaped by the rise of European ____ overseas.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English imperial Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English imperialism From imperial + -ism.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Though most of the cases here cover European encounters with non-Europeans, it is not the intention of the book to give the impression that genocide is a function of European colonialism and imperialism alone."
— 2008 June 1, A. Dirk Moses, “Preface”, in Empire, Colony, Genocide: Conquest, Occupation, and Subaltern Resistance in World History, Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page x:
"The moral imperialism of the Supreme Court did not end with Chief Justice Warren’s resignation nor with the departures of the Justices who made up his distinctive majority."
— 1990, Robert H. Bork, The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law, →ISBN, page 101:
"By contrast, economists of the Chicago School approach [sociology] from a standpoint of the imperialism of economics, in the sense that they advance the study of substructure into the areas of the study of superstructure, by researching it as economics."
— 1998, Michio Morishima, “Foreword: Joseph A. Schumpeter (1883–1950) and Yasuma Takata (1883–1972)”, in Joseph Schumpeter, Yasuma Takata, Power or Pure Economics?, →ISBN, page xxxvi:
"[…] her analysis of the discourse on private belief […] “reduced” and thus “explained away” my intuitions as being something other than what I experience them to be for myself. It was therefore the imperialism of her method that I claimed to be particularly offensive."
— 2015, Russell T. McCutcheon, A Modest Proposal on Method: Essaying the Study of Religion, →ISBN, page 33:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The policy of ____ led powerful countries to take control of weaker lands for resources.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The history of the 19th century was heavily shaped by the rise of European ____ overseas.