nation-state

noun

na·​tion-state ˈnā-shən-ˈstāt How to pronounce nation-state (audio)
-ˌstāt
: a form of political organization under which a relatively homogeneous people inhabits a sovereign state
especially : a state containing one as opposed to several nationalities

Examples of nation-state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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But the club are still indelibly linked to the abuses of their nation-state owners — from the Qatar Airways badge on their shirts to the transfer fees for their constellation of starlets. Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 June 2025 According to reports in The Wall Street Journal and The Register, these moves have raised concerns about the agency’s ability to meet its mission at a time when cyber threats from nation-state adversaries are escalating. Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025 Thousands of home and small office routers manufactured by Asus are being infected with a stealthy backdoor that can survive reboots and firmware updates in an attack by a nation-state or another well-resourced threat actor, researchers said. Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025 Going after arms sales Top Democrats are also using arms sales to a pair of nation-states Trump visited on his Middle East trip last week in a bid to gum up the president’s plans on the matter. Al Weaver, The Hill, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for nation-state

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nation-state was in 1895

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Cite this Entry

“Nation-state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nation-state. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.

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