Myanmar

[ mee-uhn-mahr, myahn-mahr ]

noun
  1. a country in Southeast Asia, bordering on the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal; area 262, 000 sq. mi. (678,500 sq. km). Capital:Nay Pyi Taw.

  • Official name Re·pub·lic of the Un·ion of Myan·mar [ri-puhb-likuhvthuh-yoon-yuhnuhv mee-uhn-mahr, myahn-mahr] /rɪˈpʌb lɪk əv ðə ˈyun yən əv ˈmi ən mɑr, ˈmyɑn mɑr/ .
  • Former official name Un·ion of Bur·ma [yoon-yuhnuhv bur-muh] /ˈyun yən əv ˈbɜr mə/ .

usage note For Myanmar

Due to a history of political and civil unrest, the official name of this country has been the subject of controversy. In 1989 the ruling military government changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar. The United Nations as well as almost all news organizations—including The New York Times, the Associated Press, and the BBC—adopted the new name. However, many pro-democracy groups and opponents of the government, both in-country and internationally, rejected the new name as illegitimate and continue to refer to the country as Burma. Both the U.S. Department of State and the CIA (for example, in its authoritative World Factbook ), as a matter of policy in support of democratic change, also continue to refer to the country as Burma.

Words Nearby Myanmar

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How to use Myanmar in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Myanmar

Myanmar

Myanma

/ (ˈmaɪænmɑː, ˈmjænmɑː) /


noun
  1. a republic in SE Asia, on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea: unified from small states in 1752; annexed by Britain (1823–85) and made a province of India in 1886; became independent in 1948. It is generally mountainous, with the basins of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers in the central part and the Irrawaddy delta in the south. Official language: Burmese. Religion: Buddhist majority. Currency: kyat. Capital: Yangon. Pop: 55 167 330 (2013 est). Area: 676 577 sq km (261 228 sq miles): Official full name: the Union of Myanmar Former official name (until 1989, though still widely used): Burma

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Myanmar

Myanmar

[ (myahn-mahr, meye-ahn-mahr) ]


The official name for Burma since 1989.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.