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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At least one high-level Israeli official, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has openly proclaimed that the purpose of this policy is to inflict so much suffering that Palestinians are effectively forced to make the latter choice — a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 12 May 2025 If permanent displacement is the government’s policy, the proper term for it is ethnic cleansing—a moral catastrophe. Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025 Binod Shah first came to the U.S. as a refugee, fleeing ethnic cleansing in his home country. Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2025 Conquest may involve ethnic cleansing, as illustrated in the recent U.S. proposal, supported by Israel, to empty the Gaza Strip and move its population to nearby countries. Tanisha M. Fazal, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2025 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

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Cite this Entry

“Ethnic cleansing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnic%20cleansing. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

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