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
The Biden administration has joined countries all over the world in condemning these naked endorsements of ethnic cleansing.
—
Michelle Goldberg, The Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2024
Written in 1917, Balfour’s declaration began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by promising the land away — which the British never had the right to do.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
All that Indigenous folks need is a little act of wish-fulfillment ethnic cleansing!
—The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2024
What distinguishes genocide from crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing?
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2023
The myth persists, as does Putin’s hostility toward NATO for engaging in an armed conflict against Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević’s government amid its campaign of mass murder and ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslav territories during the 1990s.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 9 Feb. 2024
Those who similarly view Israel’s assault as an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians have little patience for liberal handwringing about how the issue should be discussed.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2024
Israeli calls for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing are only getting louder
Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival, amid fresh protests calling for his resignation.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2024
Far-right members of Netanyahu's government have called for them to be resettled elsewhere, which critics say would amount to ethnic cleansing.
—TIME, 10 Jan. 2024
Michelle Goldberg, The Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2024
Written in 1917, Balfour’s declaration began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by promising the land away — which the British never had the right to do.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
All that Indigenous folks need is a little act of wish-fulfillment ethnic cleansing!
—The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2024
What distinguishes genocide from crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing?
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2023
The myth persists, as does Putin’s hostility toward NATO for engaging in an armed conflict against Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević’s government amid its campaign of mass murder and ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslav territories during the 1990s.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 9 Feb. 2024
Those who similarly view Israel’s assault as an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians have little patience for liberal handwringing about how the issue should be discussed.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2024
Israeli calls for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing are only getting louder
Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival, amid fresh protests calling for his resignation.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2024
Far-right members of Netanyahu's government have called for them to be resettled elsewhere, which critics say would amount to ethnic cleansing.
—TIME, 10 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ethnic cleansing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Ethnic cleansing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnic%20cleansing. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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