empire-buildingadj.
/ˈɛmpʌɪəˌbɪldɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɛmˌpaɪ(ə)rˌbɪldɪŋ/ That is an empire builder; that practises empire building.When used with reference to the practice of empire building n. 3, usually depreciative.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > power > [adjective] > pursuing or desiring power
Alexandrian1827
power-lusting1836
power-seeking1855
empire-building1856
Alexandrine1872
power-hungry1914
power-tripping1970
1856 A. H. Reader in Election & Candidates (Fremont Campaign Lit.) 9/2 Having shut the gates of Kansas and the other future States against Northern emigration by making them Slave States, where will you turn this immense empire-building human stream?
1918 Protectionist Oct. 321 The merchant Phoenicians, the artistic Greeks, the victorious Romans, the adventurous Norsemen, the empire-building Anglo-Saxon—they all paid tribute to me.
1973 Amer. Bar Assoc. Jrnl. Jan. 22/3 We lawyers, abetted by hard-nosed policemen, bandwagon politicians, and empire-building bureaucrats.
1977 B. W. Diffie & G. D. Winius Found. Portuguese Empire xix. 339 To be considered a component part of an empire, a territory must be controlled..by the empire-building country.
2008 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 20 Mar. 10/4 Empire-building, wannabe tin-pot dictators masquerading as humble editors.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1856