protectorate
Americannoun
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the relation of a strong state toward a weaker state or territory that it protects and partly controls.
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a state or territory so protected.
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the office or position, or the term of office, of a protector.
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the government of a protector.
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(initial capital letter) the period (1653–59) during which Oliver and Richard Cromwell held the title of Lord Protector, sometimes extended to include the period of the restoration of the Rump Parliament (1659–60).
noun
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a territory largely controlled by but not annexed to a stronger state
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the relation of a protecting state to its protected territory
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the office or period of office of a protector
Etymology
Origin of protectorate
Explanation
A protectorate is a state or country that's protected by a larger, stronger one. Protectorate is another word for “protected state.” Protectorates are weak territories protected and partly controlled by stronger ones. A country defends its protectorate, but it doesn't own it, and it doesn't meddle with the protectorate's internal affairs. A protectorate is in a more equal relationship with its mother country than a colony. The more powerful country may help the protectorate with economic issues as well as defense. With a capital p, Protectorate refers to a specific government that led England in the 1600s.
Vocabulary lists containing protectorate
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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.
Britain's former protectorate was named the "Pearl of Africa" in the early 20th century by the future British prime minister Winston Churchill.
From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026
One more reason to which he alludes: The Jewish state serves as the protectorate of several historical and biblical Christian sites that millions of pilgrims visit each year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025
In the winter of 1956, The Times correspondent David Holden arrived on the island of Bahrain, then still a British protectorate.
From BBC • Jun. 21, 2025
“We are neither a protectorate nor a colony of any foreign nation.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025
Rumor has it that the Resistance fighters have been getting bolder, recruiting not just Scholars, but Mariners, from the free country of Marinn, to the north, and Tribesmen, whose desert-territory is an Empire protectorate.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
