domination

noun

dom·​i·​na·​tion ˌdä-mə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce domination (audio)
Synonyms of dominationnext
1
: supremacy or preeminence over another
2
: exercise of mastery or ruling power
3
: exercise of preponderant, governing, or controlling influence
4
dominations plural : dominion sense 3

Synonyms of domination

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of domination in a Sentence

auction houses battling for domination in the high-end art market the Spanish domination of the Americas in the 16th century
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.
Being top dog on the local council, however, is not the same as world domination. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 2 July 2026 Hard to say, because Rob Rausch’s Traitors domination is hard to forget. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 July 2026 Complete domination from Portugal in the first half. — Monica Alba, NBC news, 24 June 2026 The draft domination forms an impressive bookend. — Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for domination

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of domination was in the 14th century

Rhymes for domination

See All Rhymes for domination

Browse Nearby Words

dominatingly
domination
dominative
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Domination.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domination. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on domination

Nglish: Translation of domination for Spanish Speakers

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’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
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
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All