Western Europe

Cultural  

1. Those nations in Europe that were not part of the Eastern Bloc, or more specifically, those nations allied with the United States in NATO (except Turkey). Neutral or nonaligned nations such as Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain, though western European in terms of geography, are not usually meant when the term “Western Europe” is used as the opposite for terms such as “Eastern Europe,” “the Eastern Bloc,” or “communist Europe.”

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Example Sentences

After the Revolution, slow communications seemed like a threat to cohesion in the new nation—which was four times the size of France, the largest country in Western Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

For the foreseeable future, he plans to direct his customers towards other destinations further west, such as the Mediterranean, Western Europe and the Caribbean.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

Low-pressure weather systems have been stalling across the UK and Western Europe in general, leading to days of rain and cloudy skies.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

Travel from Australia, India and Western Europe, among others, has also shrunk.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026

Twelve days later The Savage of Surrey had been released and could be seen, heard and felt in every first-class feely-palace in Western Europe.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley