annexation

noun

an·​nex·​a·​tion ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-shən 

plural annexations

1

: the act of annexing something or the state of being annexed : the addition of an area or region to a country, state, etc.

The Senate rejected the Hawaiian reciprocity treaty, the purchase of the Virgin Islands from Denmark, the annexation of Santo Domingo and the annexation of Samoa.

—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

In the early part of the 20th century, Chinese writers generally dated the annexation of Tibet to the 18th century.

—Elliot Sperling

2

: something that is annexed

… defended their annexations with fire and sword.

—George Bernard Shaw

annexational

ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

annexationist

ˌa-ˌnek-ˈsā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

Examples of annexation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Austin Community College trustees approved Nov. 5 elections at their August board meeting for the annexation of Lockhart into the college’s taxing district and for three seats on the nine-seat trustee board, two of which are contested. —Lily Kepner, Austin American-Statesman, 3 Sep. 2024

Those opposed to annexation can file protests with LAFCo, ahed of the Nov. 12 vote, officials said. —Sierra Lopez, The Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2024

The annexation has created legal and ethical quandaries for Ukraine and the International cultural sector. —Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 9 Aug. 2024

If the far right wins out, as currently seems likely, Israel will continue to dispossess Palestinians from large swaths of the West Bank and build more settlements, pushing forward with the piecemeal annexation that Smotrich has spearheaded. —Mairav Zonszein, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1