Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

raison d'état

American  
[re-zawn dey-ta] / rɛ zɔ̃ deɪˈta /

noun

French.

plural

raisons d'état

  1. a purely political reason for governmental action, based on the national interest and often violating principles of justice.

Etymology

Origin of raison d'état

Literally, “reason of state”

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.

They believe in no higher cause than raison d’état.

From Washington Post • May 22, 2019

They wondered at the stubborn elevation of private property over raison d'état, of personal freedom over collective need.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2013

They signified questions reserved, and showed in the operation of the police a certain amount of raison d'état.

From The Man Who Laughs by Hugo, Victor

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.