adventurism

1 of 2

noun (1)

ad·​ven·​tur·​ism əd-ˈven-chə-ˌri-zəm How to pronounce adventurism (audio)
: improvisation or experimentation (as in politics or military or foreign affairs) in the absence or in defiance of accepted plans or principles
adventurist
əd-ˈven-ch(ə-)rist How to pronounce adventurism (audio)
noun
adventuristic
əd-ˌven-chə-ˈri-stik How to pronounce adventurism (audio)
adjective

adventurist

2 of 2

noun (2)

ad·​ven·​tur·​ist əd-ˈven-ch(ə-)rist also ad- How to pronounce adventurist (audio)
plural -s
: one that adheres to adventurism
adventuristic
əd-¦ven-chə-¦ri-stik How to pronounce adventurist (audio)
adjective

Examples of adventurism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
And yet, before last summer had even ended, the intrepid adventurism that brought the nation’s first big wave of tourism was supplanted with grousing and gripes. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 16 Mar. 2026 Trump won the White House on the promises of sidestepping forever wars and avoiding international adventurism. — Philip Elliott, Time, 17 Mar. 2026 The most explicit objector was Vance, who has been consistently opposed to foreign adventurism, and to this Iran war in particular. — Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2026 Trump began this war assuming that all other issues—nuclear weapons, terrorism, Iran’s regional adventurism—would vanish when the regime was toppled. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for adventurism

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

adventure entry 1 + -ism, in part after Russian avantjurizm

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1932, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1815, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of adventurism was in 1815

Rhymes for adventurism

See All Rhymes for adventurism

Browse Nearby Words

adventurine
adventurism
adventurist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Adventurism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adventurism. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All