annexation

noun

an·​nex·​a·​tion ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-shən 

plural annexations

1

: the act of annexing something or the state of being annexed : the addition of an area or region to a country, state, etc.

The Senate rejected the Hawaiian reciprocity treaty, the purchase of the Virgin Islands from Denmark, the annexation of Santo Domingo and the annexation of Samoa.

—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

In the early part of the 20th century, Chinese writers generally dated the annexation of Tibet to the 18th century.

—Elliot Sperling

2

: something that is annexed

… defended their annexations with fire and sword.

—George Bernard Shaw

annexational

ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

annexationist

ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

Examples of annexation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, in 2014, and its subsequent full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, NASA continued to coöperate with Russia to get its astronauts into space. —Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2024

Netanyahu was ultimately forced to withdraw his annexation proposal under pressure from the Trump Administration. —Eric Cortellessa/jerusalem, TIME, 13 Aug. 2024

Earlier this week the Orlando City Council moved forward a 1,000-acre annexation west of Sunbridge, by Meritage Homes, the nation’s fifth-largest homebuilder. —Ryan Gillespie, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2024

The litigation started soon after Russia's military occupation and annexation of Crimea, which prompted US government sanctions on prominent Russian government officials, including Dmitry Rogozin, then Russia's deputy prime minister and later the head of Russia's space agency. —Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 30 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1