empire Definition
em·pire (em′pīr′; for adj., also ôm pē′ər, -pir′; -äm-)
noun
- supreme rule; absolute power or authority; dominion
- government by an emperor or empress
- the period during which such government prevails
- a group of states or territories under the sovereign power of an emperor or empress
- a state uniting many territories and peoples under a single sovereign power
- an extensive social or economic organization under the control of a single person, family, or corporation
Etymology: ME & OFr < L imperium < imperare: see emperor
adjective
of or characteristic of the first French Empire (1804-15) under Napoleon; specif.,
- designating a style of furniture of this period, characterized by massiveness, bronze ornamentation, and motifs of ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt
- designating a gown in the style of the period, with a short waist, décolleté bodice, flowing skirt, and short, puffed sleeves
empire Synonyms
empire Usage Examples
Converse of object
- overthrow: Sometimes this new tribalism can be a liberating thrust, as was the case when national movements overthrew the communist empire.
- found: Ur-Nammu founded the empire, which stretched into Iran.
- expand: Britain was a confident country at this time, with an expanding Empire.
- weaken: Refusal to honor the gods was seen as an act of treachery, weakening the empire at the hour of its greatest need.
- dismantle: Consider the likely reaction to having an empire dismantled overnight?
- unite: In these years the soldier emperors were desperately trying to unite the empire against the external threat.
Adjective modifier
- Byzantine: Many of today's popular icon compositions can be traced to their origin in the era of the Byzantine Empire.
- British: In 2000 Trisha received the Order of the British Empire from her Majesty the Queen for Services to Evidence Based Medical Care.
- Russian: Rebel Leon Trotsky was born in 1879 in what was then the Russian Empire.
- Soviet: Exit - to cut a long story very short - the Soviet empire.
- Carolingian: Even the Carolingian Empire of the early ninth century had only been a failed successor state to the Western Roman Empire.
- colonial: At the time it was closely bound up with colonies but it was by no means restricted to colonial empire.
Modifies a noun
- Strike: The band's brand new album, titled The Empire Strikes Back, is set for release in June.
- builder: To them, the Irish had become second class citizens in the world's greatest empire builder.
Noun used with modifier
- colonial: In the second panel, Companies and Colonies, speakers looked at the relation between Scots and the Dutch colonial empire.
- Viking: Without the Viking Empire vote, Latvia's victory would have been far narrower.
- media: DYNAMIC, ENERGETIC AND EXCITING BACARDI BREEZER has just struck a juicy £ 1 million deal with the EMAP media empire.
- publishing: She was the heiress of the Hirst publishing empire, the daughter of wealthy and powerful parents, a young woman of great privilege.
- trading: It was once the seat of one of the great trading empires of the ancient world, and is evocative of the past.
- slave: The Inca ruling classes presided over a totalitarian slave empire.
Browse dictionary entries near empire
- ‹ emphysema
- ‹ emphatically
- ‹ emphatic
- ‹ emphasize
- ‹ emphasis
- ‹ empery
- ‹ emperor penguin
- ‹ emperor
- ‹ empennage
- ‹ Empedocles
- Empire Day ›
- Empire State ›
- empiric ›
- empirical ›
- empirical formula ›
- empiricism ›
- emplace ›
- emplacement ›
- emplane ›
- employ ›

