expansionism

noun

ex·​pan·​sion·​ism ik-ˈspan(t)-shə-ˌni-zəm 

: a policy or practice of expansion and especially of territorial expansion by a nation

expansionist

ik-ˈspan(t)-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

expansionist adjective

or less commonly expansionistic

ik-ˌspan(t)-shə-ˈni-stik 

Examples of expansionism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The first few centuries of the rose were a period of conquests and Catholic expansionism, when conversion often came through war. — Joëlle Rollo-Koster, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026

The Ming eventually shed much of its early expansionism by turning inward as a neo-Confucian ethos became more pronounced. — Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Manila’s Teodoro struck the most combative tone, saying that China expansionism continues unabated. — Lim Hui Jie,joanna Ossinger, CNBC, 31 May 2026

Yet the picture is more complicated than simple Chinese expansionism. — Yu Jie, Time, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for expansionism

• activism
• albinism
• altruism
• aneurism
• animism
• aphorism
• atomism
• barbarism
• bolshevism
• botulism
• brahmanism
• calvinism