Phrase guide

manifest destiny

noun · verb · 6 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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1

noun

Meaning 1

The political doctrine or belief held by the United States of America, particularly during its expansion, that the nation was obviously destined to expand toward the west.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: expansionism

2

noun

Meaning 2

The political doctrine or belief held by many citizens of the United States of America that their system is best, and the idea that all humans would like to become Americans.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Near-synonym: American exceptionalism

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: w:American exceptionalism

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The belief that God supports the expansion of the United States of America throughout the entire North American continent except Mexico.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Alternative letter-case form of manifest destiny.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To exercise and realize manifest destiny; to enable the cultural and political expansion of the United States of America.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • The Homestead Acts allowed millions of settlers to populate unclaimed land and manifest destiny out on the frontier.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a policy of imperialism rationalized as inevitable (as if granted by God)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: imperialism

History

Etymology

Popularly attributed to newspaper editor John O'Sullivan (1813–1895). The phrase was first used primarily by Jackson Democrats in the 1840s to promote the annexation of much of what is now the Western United States.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 昭昭天命 (zhāozhāo tiānmìng) — cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America
  • French: destinée manifeste — cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America
  • German: Manifest Destiny — cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America
  • Polish: Objawione Przeznaczenie — cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America
  • Portuguese: destino manifesto — cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America
  • Vietnamese: vận mệnh hiển nhiên — cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America