expansionism

C2+ Topic:Politics & International Affairs

US /ɪkˈspænʃəˌnɪzəm/ UK /ɪkˈspænʃənɪzəm/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a policy of extending a nation's territory or economic influence

Critics warned that the empire's expansionism would overreach itself.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a policy of extending a... imperialism colonialism aggrandizementinterventionism

Opposites

isolationismretrenchment

Word family

Derived forms expansionistexpansionistic

Related forms expand expansion expansive

Etymology

From expansion + -ism, from Latin expansio, from expandere ('to spread out'), from ex- ('out') + pandere ('to spread, stretch').

expandere Latin pandere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Politics & International Affairs Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# expansionism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈspænʃəˌnɪzəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈspænʃənɪzəm/

## Meanings
1. a policy of extending a nation's territory or economic influence

## Examples
- Critics warned that the empire's expansionism would overreach itself.

## Synonyms
- imperialism
- colonialism
- aggrandizement
- interventionism

## Antonyms
- isolationism
- retrenchment

## Derived Forms
- expansionist
- expansionistic

## Related Forms
- expand
- expansion
- expansive

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: expandere
- Root: pandere

## Etymology
From expansion + -ism, from Latin expansio, from expandere ('to spread out'), from ex- ('out') + pandere ('to spread, stretch').

## AI Etymology
Expansionism comes from expansion + -ism, from Latin expansio, from expandere ('to spread out'), from ex- ('out') + pandere ('to spread, stretch'). Morphologically, the account is both compositional and suffixal: ex- and -ism marks the visible structure by which the older base becomes the modern form. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a policy of extending a nation's territory or economic influence", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as expansionist and expansionistic and related forms such as expand, expansion, and expansive, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin expandere and Latin pandere, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Politics & International Affairs
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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