noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ɛkˈspænʃənɪzəm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:IH0 K S P AE1 N SH AH0 N IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:IH0 K S P AE1 N CH AH0 N IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The policy, of a nation, of expanding its territory or its economic influence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
the doctrine of expanding the territory or the economic influence of a country
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: doctrine, philosophy, philosophical system, school of thought, ism
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English expansion 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 expansionism From expansion + -ism.
Across languages
Translations
38 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
ekspansionizëm
— tendency to annex territories
Arabic:
تَوَسُّعِيَّة
(tawassuʕiyya)
— tendency to annex territories
Armenian:
էքսպանսիոնիզմ
(ēkʻspansionizm)
— tendency to annex territories
Azerbaijani:
ekspansionizm
— tendency to annex territories
Belarusian:
экспансіяні́зм
(ekspansijanízm)
— tendency to annex territories
Bulgarian:
експанзиони́зъм
(ekspanzionízǎm)
— tendency to annex territories
Catalan:
expansionisme
— tendency to annex territories
Chinese Mandarin:
擴張主義 /扩张主义
(kuòzhāngzhǔyì)
— tendency to annex territories
Chinese Mandarin:
膨脹主義 /膨胀主义
(péngzhàngzhǔyì)
— tendency to annex territories
Czech:
expanzionismus
— tendency to annex territories
Dutch:
expansionisme
— tendency to annex territories
Estonian:
ekspansionism
— tendency to annex territories
French:
expansionnisme
— tendency to annex territories
Georgian:
ექსპანსიონიზმი
(eksṗansionizmi)
— tendency to annex territories
German:
Expansionismus
— tendency to annex territories
Greek:
επεκτατισμός
(epektatismós)
— tendency to annex territories
Hindi:
विस्तारवाद
(vistārvād)
— tendency to annex territories
Hungarian:
expanzionizmus
— tendency to annex territories
Hungarian:
terjeszkedési politika
— tendency to annex territories
Hungarian:
terjeszkedő politika
— tendency to annex territories
Italian:
espansionismo
— tendency to annex territories
Japanese:
膨張主義
(bōchōshugi)
— tendency to annex territories
Korean:
팽창주의
(paengchangjuui)
— tendency to annex territories
Macedonian:
експанзиони́зам
(ekspanzionízam)
— tendency to annex territories
Persian:
توسعهطلبی
(towse'e-talabi)
— tendency to annex territories
Polish:
ekspansjonizm
— tendency to annex territories
Portuguese:
expansionismo
— tendency to annex territories
Romanian:
expansionism
— tendency to annex territories
Russian:
экспансиони́зм
(ekspansionízm)
— tendency to annex territories
Serbo-Croatian:
експанзионѝзам
— tendency to annex territories
Serbo-Croatian:
ekspanzionìzam
— tendency to annex territories
Slovak:
expanzionizmus
— tendency to annex territories
Slovene:
ekspanzionizem
— tendency to annex territories
Spanish:
expansionismo
— tendency to annex territories
Swahili:
sera ya upanuzi
— tendency to annex territories
Swedish:
expansionism
— tendency to annex territories
Ukrainian:
експансіоні́зм
(ekspansionízm)
— tendency to annex territories
Vietnamese:
chủ nghĩa bành trướng
— tendency to annex territories