micronation

/ˈmaɪ.kɹəʊ.neɪ̯.ʃən//ˈmaɪ.kɹoʊˌneɪ.ʃən/

micronation noun: a non-autonomous entity that claims to be a sovereign state and mimics the actions of a state (with varying degrees of seriousness), but lacks any legal recognition and exists only on paper or in the mind of its creator; a micronational entity.

Image: See en:Talk:Sealand/emails, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

micronation (plural micronations)

A non-autonomous entity that claims to be a sovereign state and mimics the actions of a state (with varying degrees of seriousness), but lacks any legal recognition and exists only on paper or in the mind of its creator; a micronational entity.
- For every dreamer there is somewhere a doer, and in the realm [of] the strange micro-nations, the Republic of Minerva has plunged a bit ahead of the nebulous status of most others.1973 March 11, Philip J. Hilts, “Micro-nations Nebulous Fourth World”, in Lansing State Journal, page C-5
- Oceanus ... This is the world's largest micronation, taking up all the seas of the world beyond national 3-mi. limits.1978, David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac #2: A Completely New Book from Cover to Cover, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 330
Synonym of microstate (“a country that has a very small population and land area”).
- Also, since Nigeria is the cornerstone of the economy of West Africa, many countries around its perimeter will suffer, including many of the "micro-nations" of the U.N. which were the biggest supporters of the actions in The Congo and Rhodesia.1967 June 11, T. W. Carlson, “U.N. Should Act to Save Nigeria”, in Star Tribune, page 45
- The concept of an independent Bougainville is sometimes denounced because such a micronation would necessarily restrict the scope of employment opportunities while increasing the frustrations of educated Bougainvilleans.1973, Anthony Clunies Ross, John Langmore, Alternative Strategies for Papua New Guinea, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 129
Synonyms:

microstate

Noun (2)

micronation (plural micronations)

(uncommon) A small nation (“historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and manifested in a common culture”).
- Careful groundwork had given Germany a highly unified micronation within the boundaries of Argentina, in many ways better prepared and better organized than the Argentine nation itself.1943, Sax[tone] E. Bradford, The Battle for Buenos Aires, Harcourt, Brace and Company, page 95
- We are faced with micronationalisms that need be tamed, micronations that will have to be organized.1961, Mamadou Dia, translated by Mercer Cook, The African Nations and World Solidarity, Frederick A. Praeger, →ISBN, page 143
Synonyms:

ephemeral state, model country, micronational entity, new country project, project nation

micronation meaning in Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese

micronation in Indonesian

Entity that claims to be a sovereign state: negara mikro

micronation in Thai

Entity that claims to be a sovereign state: ประเทศจำลอง bprà-têet-jam-lɔɔng

micronation in Vietnamese

Entity that claims to be a sovereign state: vi quốc gia

Examples of micronation in a sentence

Even if you are very well traveled, you may not yet have visited any of the world's micronations.2006 November 1, Alex Chadwick, “'Lonely Planet' Explores Micronations”, in NPR, archived from the original on 12 Apr 2025:
Léo Delafontaine hadn’t either until 2012, when he visited the Republic of Saugeais, a self-proclaimed micronation in eastern France.2014 November 18, Jordan Teicher, “The World's Tiniest Countries and the Eccentrics Who Rule Them”, in Wired, archived from the original on...
After exploring several classificatory accounts that identify commonalities and distinctions among and between different types of micronation, we outline our definition.2021, Harry Hobbs, George Williams, Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty (Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law), Cambridge...
But in easing its own vaccine crisis, this hilltop micronation – which is not a member of the European Union – has become a foil for a much larger crisis playing out beyond its borders.2021 April 2, Chico Harlan, Stefano Pitrelli, “San Marino, the micronation within Italy, stokes envy with speedy Russian-supplied vaccine...

Synonyms of micronation

7 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

Forms of micronation

plural	micronations
alternative form	micro-nation

Origin of micronation

From micro- (“very small”) + nation (“a sovereign state; country”). Compare microcountry, mini-nation, mini-country and ministate. The first sense was coined on 11 March 1973 by the editors of the Lansing State Journal (see quotations) in a republication of an article by Philip J. Hilts, originally writing for Potomac Magazine (Sunday supplement to The Washington Post), and so-called because most micronations are small in size. The article was referring to the unrecognised political entities listed in the Ephemeral States file, a collection of physical micronational records maintained by the Office of the Geographer of the United States Department of State, launched in 1933.

From micro- (“very small”) + nation (“a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life or ethnicity”).

Words formed from micronation

Words that rhyme with micronation

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about micronation

What does micronation mean?: Micronation means a non-autonomous entity that claims to be a sovereign state and mimics the actions of a state (with varying degrees of seriousness), but lacks any legal recognition and exists only on paper or in the mind of its creator; a micronational entity.
What is micronation in Indonesian?: Micronation in Indonesian is negara mikro. See Micronation meaning in Indonesian.
How do you use micronation in a sentence?: Even if you are very well traveled, you may not yet have visited any of the world's micronations.
What part of speech is micronation?: Micronation is a noun.
How do you pronounce micronation?: Micronation is pronounced /ˈmaɪ.kɹəʊ.neɪ̯.ʃən/ (UK).
What is the plural of micronation?: The plural of micronation is micronations.

Words near micronation in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: micronation (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-micronation.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-micronation.wav.

Cite this entry: “micronation.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/micronation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.