ethnic cleansing

noun

: the expulsion, imprisonment, or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity

Examples of ethnic cleansing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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However, some critics, including a former Israeli defense minister, have accused the government of engaging in ethnic cleansing near the Israeli border in Gaza's northernmost areas. —

Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024 This comes as Israel faces accusations of ethnic cleansing in its attacks on Gaza, an accusation the IDF denies. —

Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2024 The second is the Israeli campaign of mass murder and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, part of a larger strategy aimed at the erasure of all Palestinian presence from Israel-Palestine. —

Karen Parker Lears, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024 Bu Meh, a member of Myanmar's Karenni ethnic minority, fled what her relatives described as ethnic cleansing in the Southeast Asian nation about 10 years ago. —

CBS News, 20 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ethnic cleansing

Word History

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ethnic cleansing was in 1991

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ethnic cleansing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnic%20cleansing. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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