Zionism

American  

[zahy-uh-niz-uhm] / ˈzaɪ əˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. a worldwide Jewish movement that resulted in the establishment and development of the state of Israel and that now supports the state of Israel as a Jewish homeland.

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Zionism British  

/ ˈzaɪəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. a political movement for the establishment and support of a national homeland for Jews in Palestine, now concerned chiefly with the development of the modern state of Israel

2. a policy or movement for Jews to return to Palestine from the Diaspora

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Zionism Cultural  

1. The belief that Jews (see also Jews) should have their own nation; Jewish nationalism. Zionism gained much support among Jews and others in the early twentieth century, and the hoped-for nation was established in the late 1940s in Palestine, as the state of Israel. Zionism is opposed by most Arabs. (See Arab-Israeli conflict.)

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Other Word Forms

• Zionist
  noun
• Zionistic
  adjective
• Zionite
  noun
• anti-Zionism
  noun
• anti-Zionist
  noun
• non-Zionist
  noun
• pro-Zionism
  noun
• pro-Zionist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Zionism

First recorded in 1895–1900; Zion + -ism

Example Sentences

In Israel’s early days, Ben-Gurion’s Mapai, the bastion of Labor Zionism, “was a party with its own state,” Mr. Segal observes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

For some Jews, Zionism and Judaism are deeply connected.

From Slate • Sep. 29, 2025

The CST said: "Both of these cases illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention."

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2025

But to many Jews, Zionism — the belief in a Jewish state in the ancestral Jewish homeland — is key to Jewish identity.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2024

But the tension was felt everywhere; it spilled over into our studies, and arguments over Milton, Talleyrand or deductive procedures in logic were often clear substitutes for the outlawed fistfights over Zionism.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok