irredentism
Americannoun
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(usually initial capital letter) an Italian association that became prominent in 1878, advocating the incorporation into Italy of certain neighboring regions having a primarily Italian population.
After World War II, Irredentism faded away in Italian politics.
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the acquisition or annexation of a region previously included in another country because of cultural, historical, ethnic, racial, or other ties, or advocacy for such an acquisition.
Few countries are explicitly mandating irredentism, but having ethnic communities divided by borders created by colonialists is hugely troublesome.
Etymology
Origin of irredentism
First recorded in 1880–85; irredent(ism) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing irredentism
Human Geography - High School
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Political Geography - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among conflict-generating “isms” the most relevant one today, however, may be irredentism.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2021
Outsiders gape in confusion, but such arcane arguments lend a patina of academic authority to the mostly emotional support irredentism often enjoys.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2021
After the statue was unveiled, the Croats summoned Italy’s ambassador in Zagreb and condemned it as celebrating irredentism, the turn-of-the-20th-century Italian movement to reclaim “unredeemed” lands.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2019
The result of an epidemic of irredentism might be not merely political chaos but even war.
From Time Magazine Archive
Turkish irredentism may be directed towards material or moral reforms according to circumstances.
From Turkey: a Past and a Future by Toynbee, Arnold Joseph
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
