territorialism

American  

[ter-i-tawr-ee-uh-liz-uhm, -tohr-] / ˌtɛr ɪˈtɔr i əˌlɪz əm, -ˈtoʊr- /

noun

1. a principle or system that gives predominance to the landed classes.

2. Also called territorial system. a theory of church policy according to which the supreme ecclesiastical authority is vested in the civil power.

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territorialism British  

/ ˌtɛrɪˈtɔːrɪəlɪzəm /

noun

1. a social system under which the predominant force in the state is the landed class

2. a former Protestant theory that the civil government has the right to determine the religious beliefs of the subjects of a state

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Other Word Forms

• territorialist
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of territorialism

First recorded in 1870–75; territorial + -ism

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

territorialism

They are ruled by the territorialism of their ego more often than they are by love, and they might not even always be aware of that.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

“There seems to be a fair amount of territorialism here … It’s like, ‘Whoa, what are you doing … — you’re getting donors to donate directly to these people?

From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2018

Living at such close quarters intensifies the lions’ natural territorialism; in this population, the leading cause of death is conflict with other lions.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 5, 2017

He and Hubley were living in Hoboken, a town too small for style territorialism.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 24, 2014

Additional proof of territorialism in Seaside Sparrows was obtained by identifying and plotting the location of all the marked individuals, which I saw each day while systematically traversing all the available habitat on the island.

From Comparative Breeding Behavior of Ammospiza caudacuta and A. maritima by Glen E. Woolfenden

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