imperium
noun
im·pe·ri·um
im-ˈpir-ē-əm 
1
2
: the right to command or to employ the force of the state : sovereignty
Examples of imperium in a Sentence
a nation whose economic imperium waned after the war
Recent Examples on the Web
But our failure to anticipate this most recent spark of dissent is perhaps more understandable; after all, as Xi’s one-party Leninist imperium has gathered momentum, most foreign journalists have been expelled from China.
—
Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs, 5 Dec. 2022
Even the Commonwealth—long a convenient way to sustain a more symbolic form of cultural imperium—has lost much of its meaning.
—Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023
Playing that particular Neil Young tune to represent the American imperium was an insidious selection.
—Armond White, National Review, 17 May 2024
Poland, through a protest movement, led the liberation of Europe from the Soviet imperium, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
But unlike the familiar realm of the Caesars, this imperium doesn’t govern only humans: Talking beasts also live as citizens in the empire.
—Liz Braswell, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2023
Many people in what was formerly East Germany, part of the Soviet imperium until shortly before German unification in 1990, look favorably on Moscow.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Firstly, the struggle of Czech writers (within a German-speaking imperium) to transform their little vernacular into a language of literary distinction.
—Jared Marcel Pollen, The New Republic, 12 July 2023
In Poland — a nation held captive in the totalitarian Soviet imperium for decades before leading the struggle to break those chains and rejoin Europe — ideas of heroism and sacrifice endured.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2023
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Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs, 5 Dec. 2022
Even the Commonwealth—long a convenient way to sustain a more symbolic form of cultural imperium—has lost much of its meaning.
—Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023
Playing that particular Neil Young tune to represent the American imperium was an insidious selection.
—Armond White, National Review, 17 May 2024
Poland, through a protest movement, led the liberation of Europe from the Soviet imperium, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
But unlike the familiar realm of the Caesars, this imperium doesn’t govern only humans: Talking beasts also live as citizens in the empire.
—Liz Braswell, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2023
Many people in what was formerly East Germany, part of the Soviet imperium until shortly before German unification in 1990, look favorably on Moscow.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Firstly, the struggle of Czech writers (within a German-speaking imperium) to transform their little vernacular into a language of literary distinction.
—Jared Marcel Pollen, The New Republic, 12 July 2023
In Poland — a nation held captive in the totalitarian Soviet imperium for decades before leading the struggle to break those chains and rejoin Europe — ideas of heroism and sacrifice endured.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Imperium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperium. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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