nationhood

American  

[ney-shuhn-hood] / ˈneɪ ʃənˌhʊd /

noun

1. the state or quality of having status as a separate and independent nation.

   an African colony that achieved nationhood.

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Etymology

Origin of nationhood

First recorded in 1840–50; nation + -hood

Example Sentences

In Renan’s view, nationhood was not determined by race, religion, language or geography.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Yet all are undergirded by peoples that had a pre-existing sense of their own distinctiveness, their own nationhood.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

In his heyday, in the 1990s, Mr. Murphy was the rare political commentator who commanded a countrywide audience, skewering Canada’s elites as well as its sometimes fragile sense of nationhood.

From New York Times • May 18, 2024

Such surveys have found a smaller, more ardent group of believers in Christian nationhood.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2024

The personal tragedies and controversies in Thomas Jefferson’s life played out as America entered a new era of nationhood.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis