ministate

noun

mini·​state ˈmi-nē-ˌstāt How to pronounce ministate (audio)
: a small independent nation

Examples of ministate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
His ministate is hierarchical, patriarchal and militaristic, a utilitarian utopia rather than a revolutionary experiment. New York Times, 13 May 2021 Karen insurgents, who had once controlled a ministate within Myanmar, lost most of their territory. Hannah Beech, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2020 Islamic State also tried to establish a ministate of its own in the Indonesian regency of Poso, on Sulawesi island, in 2015. Yaroslav Trofimov, WSJ, 7 June 2018 These are central Africa’s ministates — overlapping and unrecognized fiefdoms in a Texas-size country riven by disorder, situated in one of the world’s worst neighborhoods. Jack Losh, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2018 The Mali cases have their roots in 2012, when armed rebels and homegrown Islamic jihadists set up a ministate in Northern Mali around Timbuktu that lasted about a year. Marlise Simons, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2018 Within this unwieldy land, rebel groups may well possess tools for military enforcement and economic extraction, but their ministates remain combustible and profoundly limited, lacking reliable public utilities and transparent justice systems. Jack Losh, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2018 The Aida refugee camp is a warren of alleys, a scene of frequent clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers — and a welfare ministate. William Booth, Washington Post, 19 May 2017 That country also has a long-disadvantaged Kurdish minority, which exploited the chaos to carve out its own de facto ministate. Max Fisher, New York Times, 29 June 2016

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ministate was in 1966

Dictionary Entries Near ministate

Cite this Entry

“Ministate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ministate. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

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