Zionism

noun

Zi·​on·​ism ˈzī-ə-ˌni-zəm How to pronounce Zionism (audio)
: an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel
Zionist adjective or noun
Zionistic adjective

Examples of Zionism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The dollar sign and the Star of David were not a statement about Jews, SNCC claimed in a subsequent newsletter, but symbols of Zionism strangling Arabs and the United States strangling Muhammad Ali as well as Arabs. Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024 The unmasking of an antisemitism, cloaked in ethical superiority yet openly calling for genocide, has left young diaspora Jews betrayed, and some have embraced a feeling heretofore unknown: Zionism. TIME, 20 Feb. 2024 For Feldman, Zionism has both shored up and constrained the American Jewish experience. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2024 Jabotinsky, whose version of Zionism was the precursor to Likud, the party of Benjamin Netanyahu, had a more realistic vision. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 14 Feb. 2024 In 1931, at a congress in Jerusalem to highlight Muslim solidarity against Zionism, Sunni participants suggested that a famous Iraqi Shiite cleric lead the Friday prayer in the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Toby Matthiesen, Foreign Affairs, 9 Feb. 2024 The standard version is the projection onto the past from Zionism’s post-Second World War dilemmas and self-justifying rhetoric. Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2024 The basic argument of Zionism — that the Jews are not safe — was vindicated by the death of six million. Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024 The Reform movement has had its own shifts on the topic of Zionism. Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Zionism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Zionism was in 1890

Dictionary Entries Near Zionism

Cite this Entry

“Zionism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Zionism. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

Zionism

noun
Zi·​on·​ism ˈzī-ə-ˌniz-əm How to pronounce Zionism (audio)
: an international effort working in the beginning for a Jewish homeland and later for the support of Israel
Zionist adjective or noun

More from Merriam-Webster on Zionism

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