Monroe Doctrine

noun

Mon·​roe Doctrine mən-ˈrō- How to pronounce Monroe Doctrine (audio)
 also  ˈmən-,
 or  ˈmän-
: a statement of U.S. foreign policy expressing opposition to extension of European control or influence in the western hemisphere

Examples of Monroe Doctrine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Koffler likens Russia’s influence to the U.S.’ Monroe Doctrine — an 1823 doctrine that warned European nations against interfering in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. Morgan Phillips, Fox News, 12 Oct. 2024 In his 1823 annual address to Congress, President James Monroe enunciated a bedrock principle of American foreign policy that became known as the Monroe Doctrine. Steve Forbes, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024 After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro pursued an alliance with the Soviet Union, which many U.S. policymakers viewed as a fundamental betrayal of the Monroe Doctrine. TIME, 9 Aug. 2024 Annexation Nation Since 1823, when the Monroe Doctrine was first introduced to the world, the US has regarded Cuba as key to its designs for Latin America. JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024 By 1842, when President John Tyler expanded the Monroe Doctrine to include the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), the idea that U.S. domestic security required a favorable balance of power in Asia was widely accepted among Washington policy makers. Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 15 Mar. 2021 In case this sort of behavior sounds alien, consider the United States’ own efforts in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century to enforce the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and extirpate European influence from the Western Hemisphere. Andrew S. Erickson, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2024 After the end of the American Civil War, the United States reasserted the Monroe Doctrine, which sought to prevent further European colonization in the Western Hemisphere, and demanded that the French government withdraw from Mexico. Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022 Invoking the then-new Monroe Doctrine, Caracas pressed Washington for help. Ana Vanessa Herrero, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2022

Word History

Etymology

James Monroe

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Monroe Doctrine was in 1850

Dictionary Entries Near Monroe Doctrine

Cite this Entry

“Monroe Doctrine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Monroe%20Doctrine. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on Monroe Doctrine

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!