Word.ws English Dictionary

subimperialism

Syllables: sub·im·per·i·al·i·sm/sʌb.ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/US/sʌb.ɪmˈpɪ.ɹi.əˌlɪ.zəm/

subimperialism noun: a form of imperialism (“policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations”) which is subordinate to another imperialist power.

Noun

subimperialism (countable and uncountable, plural subimperialisms)

  1. A form of imperialism (“policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations”) which is subordinate to another imperialist power.
    • The revolt against "imperialism" has engendered a number of "subimperialisms." Egypt has ambitious plans of expansion which include the annexation of the Sudan and the suppression of Israel. India is determined to retain possession of Kashmir (the cause of ineradicable antagonism between her and...1956 September 30, F. A. Voight, “Soviet Colonialism”, in Soviet Total War: “Historic Mission” of Violence and Deceit (85th Congress, 1st Session, House Document; no. 227, part 2), volume II...
    • Behind each experiment there was an important element of ‘sub-imperialism’. In West Africa, the Lagos merchants and Government became entangled in the Yoruba region. Sierra Leonians became involved in the northern rivers and some even looked to the interior of Soudan.1967, W[illiam] David McIntyre, “Mid-Victorian Imperialism: A Pragmatic Approach to Empire”, in The Imperial Frontier in the Tropics, 1865–75: A Study of British Colonial Policy in West Africa...

Examples of subimperialism in a sentence

  • The revolt against "imperialism" has engendered a number of "subimperialisms." Egypt has ambitious plans of expansion which include the annexation of the Sudan and the suppression of Israel.1956 September 30, F. A. Voight, “Soviet Colonialism”, in Soviet Total War: “Historic Mission” of Violence and Deceit (85th Congress, 1st...
  • In this way, Germans were part of the British subimperialism of science.2021, Ulrike Kirchberger, “Between Transimperial Networking and National Antagonism: German Scientists in the British Empire during the...

Forms of subimperialism

pluralsubimperialisms
alternative formsub-imperialism

Origin of subimperialism

PIE word *upó From sub- (prefix meaning ‘beneath, under; secondary, subsidiary’) + imperialism.

Questions about subimperialism

What does subimperialism mean?
Subimperialism means a form of imperialism (“policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations”) which is subordinate to another imperialist power.
How do you use subimperialism in a sentence?
The revolt against "imperialism" has engendered a number of "subimperialisms." Egypt has ambitious plans of expansion which include the annexation of the Sudan and the suppression of Israel.
What part of speech is subimperialism?
Subimperialism is a noun.
How do you pronounce subimperialism?
Subimperialism is pronounced /sʌb.ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/ (UK).
What is the plural of subimperialism?
The plural of subimperialism is subimperialisms.

Words near subimperialism in the dictionary

  1. subimbricately
  2. subimmersed
  3. subimmunogenic
  4. subimperforate
  5. subimperial
  6. subimperialism
  7. subimperialisms
  8. subimperialist
  9. subimperialists
  10. subimpose
  11. subimposed

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: subimperialism (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.

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