balance of power

noun phrase

: an equilibrium of power sufficient to discourage or prevent one nation or party from imposing its will on or interfering with the interests of another

Examples of balance of power in a Sentence

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And even among Iraq’s Shia, the pro-Tehran position is heavily contested—all the more so, surely, now that the region’s balance of power has shifted away from Iran. Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2025 The international order is sagging because the military balance of power is sagging. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025 Emboldened by what Zoe Glatt and I described as shifting balance of power between employers and workers, companies began to fear that disgruntled ex-employees could mobilize their own audiences against them. Brooke Erin Duffy, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025 The stakes are far greater than one country's borders—at stake is the very balance of power in Europe for decades to come, and American credibility at a time when China is ascending and Russia wants to restore its superpower status under its own mafia boss. Dan Perry, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for balance of power

Word History

First Known Use

1679, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of balance of power was in 1679

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Cite this Entry

“Balance of power.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balance%20of%20power. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

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