Phrase guide

raison d'état

noun · 1 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɹeɪˌzɒ̃ deɪˈtɑː/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɹeɪˌzɒn deɪˈtɑː/
  • General-American: /ɹeɪˌzɑn deɪˈtɑː/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A state interest, especially when invoked as politically superior to moral or even legal considerations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From French raison d'État (literally “reason of state”).

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 執政者理由 /执政者理由 (zhízhèngzhě lǐyóu) — state interest
  • Chinese Mandarin: 执政者理由 (zhízhèngzhě lǐyóu) — state interest
  • Finnish: valtionetu — state interest
  • French: raison d’État — state interest
  • German: Staatsräson — state interest
  • Polish: racja stanu — state interest