foreign affairs

Save This Word!

See synonyms for foreign affairs on Thesaurus.com

plural noun

activities of a nation in its relationships with other nations; international relations.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of foreign affairs

First recorded in 1605–15

Words nearby foreign affairs

forehead, forehearth, forehock, forehoof, foreign, foreign affairs, foreign aid, foreign bill, foreign body, foreign body granuloma, foreign-born

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use foreign affairs in a sentence

Haiyang Lai, deputy director of China’s ministry of foreign affairs, pointed out that future conflicts in space could undermine the security of more than just those countries involved.
Space policy is finally moving into the 21st century|Tatyana Woodall|September 29, 2021|MIT Technology Review
As a veteran of the police foreign affairs unit in China’s ninth-largest city, Hu, who is now 46, was roughly the equivalent of a mid-level detective in Dallas.
Operation Fox Hunt: How China Exports Repression Using a Network of Spies Hidden in Plain Sight|by Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg|July 22, 2021|ProPublica
“Mexico has the right for it to be returned to Mexico,” said Sally Spener, foreign affairs officer at the commission.
Who Owns the Tijuana River – and Who Needs Its Water Most|MacKenzie Elmer and Vicente Calderón|January 11, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Cambodia, with its seemingly free press, is also a haven for foreign journalists.
Cambodia’s Smoke-and-Mirrors Democracy|David Shaftel|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

What they believe impacts economic policy, foreign policy, education policy, environmental policy, you name it.
The Evangelical Apocalypse Is All Your Fault|Jay Michaelson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Huckabee is also not burdened by, or beholden to, foreign investors.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?|Lloyd Green|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What if there were a legal dispute between the foreign investor and his or her Egyptian partners or collaborators?
Amal Clooney vs. Egypt’s Courts|Christopher Dickey|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But I had won the British Award, Best Foreign Actor, so I went.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As small letters weary the eye most, so also the smallest affairs disturb us most.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
And I finished all with a brief historical account of affairs and events in England for about a hundred years past.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
The archbishop of Manila sends to the king (July 30, 1621) an account of ecclesiastical and some other affairs in his diocese.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
It is a lofty and richly-decorated pile of the fourteenth century; and tells of the labours and the wealth of a foreign land.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
The occupants of the room had been too absorbed with their own affairs to notice the gradual dimming of the illumination.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman

British Dictionary definitions for foreign affairs

foreign affairs

pl n

matters abroad that involve the homeland, such as relations with another country

matters that do not involve the homeland

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

foreign affairs

Origin of foreign affairs

Words nearby foreign affairs

Words related to foreign affairs

How to use foreign affairs in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for foreign affairs