hegemony
noun
-ˈge-
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Hegemony refers to a kind of domination. It was borrowed in the mid-16th century from the Greek word hēgemonia, a noun formed from the verb hēgeisthai, “to lead.” At first hegemony was used specifically to refer to the control once wielded by ancient Greek states; later it was applied to domination by other political actors. By the 19th century, the word had acquired a second sense referring to the social or cultural influence wielded by a dominant entity over others of its kind, a sense employed by design scholar Joshua Langman when describing the use of found objects by French artist Marcel Duchamp (he of notorious readymade Fountain fame) as a means “to question and criticize the values of the artistic hegemony by eschewing craft entirely.”
Examples of hegemony in a Sentence
Stephen Jay Gould, Science, 14 Jan. 2000
When Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, in June of 1941, distracted Japan's traditional rival for hegemony in East Asia, Japanese expansionists saw a historic opportunity.
—David M. Kennedy, Atlantic, March 1999
If mermaids had ceased to challenge scientific hegemony, other similarly mythological creatures rushed in to fill their places in Victorian hearts and minds.
—Harriet Ritvo, The Platypus and the Mermaid, 1997
They discussed the national government's hegemony over their tribal community.
European intellectuals have long debated the consequences of the hegemony of American popular culture around the world.
Richard Menger Md Mpa, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
These include preserving macroeconomic and financial stability, dollar hegemony, and a functional and rules-based international trading system, as well as breaking U.S. and allied dependence on the Chinese market.
—Eyck Freymann, Foreign Affairs, 29 Jan. 2025
Although Ford eventually triumphed narrowly, Reagan demonstrated the political potential of using U.S. control of the canal to signal support for American hegemony in a way that energized and united different factions on the right.
—Aaron Coy Moulton / Made By History, TIME, 16 Jan. 2025
The Unexpected Winner Stablecoins, built to challenge the system, are instead supercharging dollar hegemony in a revolutionary new form—creating a digital pipeline embedding the greenback deeper into the global economy.
—Roomy Khan, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hegemony
Cite this Entry
“Hegemony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hegemony. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
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