cordon sanitaire

noun

cor·​don sa·​ni·​taire kȯr-ˌdōⁿ-sä-nē-ˈter 

: a protective barrier (as of buffer states) against a potentially aggressive nation or a dangerous influence (such as an ideology)

Examples of cordon sanitaire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Across Europe, from France to Austria, the cordon sanitaire preventing cooperation with the far-right is being shattered. —Ido Vock, TIME, 22 Feb. 2025

But Biden’s cordon sanitaire at the White House and some other Democrats were angry at the actor. —Thea Traff, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025

That’s why counties like Los Angeles have kept up vigilant monitoring and fly-murdering programs, sometimes with new tools, to protect the state’s agricultural cordon sanitaire from Napa and Sonoma to the Mexican border. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024

More specifically, in Saxony and Thuringia, the cordon sanitaire around the AfD will mean that forming local governments in the two states will be difficult, and a strange compromise between the either the BSW or ‘Die Linke’ and the CDU may need to be found. —Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024

In both states, mainstream parties have limited the reach of extremists by forming a cordon sanitaire, or buffer, around their most dangerous actors. —Rachel Kleinfeld, Foreign Affairs, 19 July 2024

The cordon sanitaire has previously helped to keep extremists out of government. —Christian Edwards, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024

Then, in the twenty-tens, the cordon sanitaire began to break down. —Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 30 June 2023

Are those who want a cordon sanitaire against these sorts of cultural values without any foundation in reality? —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 Nov. 2010

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, literally, "sanitary cordon," originally in reference to a line of military posts or other barriers enclosing a community stricken by an infectious disease

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cordon sanitaire

• extraordinaire
• multimillionaire
• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare