Yougoslavia

Proper noun

Yugoslavia

1. (historical) A former country in Southeastern Europe in the Balkans, now split into 6 countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
   • This all relates to what happened in the 1990s, in the bloody aftermath of Yugoslavia splintering into separate nations.2015 February 3, Greg Botelho, “U.N. court: Serbs’ actions in Croatia not considered genocide”, in CNN, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2025
   1. (historical, specific) The Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a kingdom ruled by the House of Karađorđević which existed from 1918 to 1941.
   2. (historical, specific) The Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a communist state which existed from 1945 to 1992.
      • Though Yugoslavia has large socially owned farms, private farmers make up a quarter of the working population and account for 75 percent of food production.1990 August, Kenneth C. Danforth, “Yugoslavia: A House Much Divided”, in National Geographic, volume 178, number 2, page 100
2. (historical) A former country in Southeastern Europe, a rump state formed by Serbia and Montenegro after 1992; in full, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
   • Yugoslavia’s President, Slobodan Milosevic, has rejected all efforts at meaningful diplomacy and, in violation of his own previous commitments, has ratcheted up his military campaign against the innocent civilians of Kosovo.1999 March 25, “Air Campaign Against Yugoslavia”, in The New York Times, New York, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2021
   1. (broadly, historical, nonstandard) Serbia and Montenegro, after 2003 until 2006, when it disintegrated.