city-states

noun

plural of city-state
as in republics
a state that has its own government and consists of a city and the area around it the city-states of ancient Greece

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of city-states Also intertwined are ancient myths of warring city-states, the raw, moody poetry of John Keats, and the modern battle between a faithless husband and his wife, the poem’s raging speaker. — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026 His historical record of the Peloponnesian War described how Athens’ rapid rise in power alarmed Sparta and made war between the two city-states inevitable. — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 26 Sep. 2026 By the later Middle Ages, Italian city-states such as Venice and Genoa were major European trading centers, importing goods from the eastern Mediterranean and distributing them to markets across Europe. — Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Sep. 2026 Just as oil money transformed and modernized the Gulf into city-states of gleaming skyscrapers, centuries of wine money have polished this rural corner of Burgundy into an agri-luxury oasis. — George Nelson For Artnews, Robb Report, 9 July 2026 As conditions worsened, city-states fought over power and resources. — Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 As children, Vi and Jinx lose their parents in an abortive revolution in Zaun, and years later find themselves on opposite sides of an unfolding power struggle between the two city-states. — David Faris, TheWeek, 22 May 2026 With very few exceptions, an end was declared, not only to empires, but also to city-states, duchies, principalities, emirates, sultanates, caliphates, khanates, agencies, princely states, colonies, suzerains, dependencies, mandates, tributaries, condominia and protectorates. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 With crops failing and fears of starvation rising, some wealthy Italian city-states like Florence and Venice imported grain from elsewhere in the world. — Evan Bush, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for city-states
  1. kingdoms
  2. nations
  3. empires
  4. countries
Noun
  • The agreement followed a long struggle between the Hittite and Egyptian kingdoms for control of territory in ancient Syria.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Like kingdoms of old, SaaS companies are sitting on treasure troves of data.
    — Srinivas Velamoor, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of kingdoms
Noun
  • Leftist mainstream media outlets piled on this week to express outrage at my observation, during a speech in Grand Rapids for Mike Rogers, about the troubling dearth of scientific output from the world’s 22 Arab nations over the past five decades.
    — Gabrielle M. Etzel, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Deployments from contributing nations have lagged and costs have risen.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of nations
Noun
  • The territories at various times have been part of the Russian and Ottoman empires, medieval Kievan Rus’ and earlier civilizations.
    — Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Fantasy Bra Club is a who's-who of supermodels and, now, reality TV billionaires with makeup empires.
    — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of empires
Noun
  • Rosatom wants to bring nuclear power to that market, saying 38 of Africa’s 54 countries have coastlines suitable for its floating reactors.
    — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Our Congress has passed laws prohibiting trade with Russia and sanctioning those countries that do.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of countries

Browse Nearby Words

city-state
city-states
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Cite this Entry

“City-states.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/city-states. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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