manifest destiny

noun

often capitalized M&D

: a future event accepted as inevitable

in the mid-19th century expansion to the Pacific was regarded as the Manifest Destiny of the United States

broadly : an ostensibly benevolent or necessary policy of imperialistic expansion

Examples of manifest destiny in a Sentence

They were living in a time when expansion to the Pacific was regarded by many people as the Manifest Destiny of the United States.

Recent Examples on the Web

The series generally holds nothing back in terms of portraying the kind of visceral brutality that resulted from the violent campaign of manifest destiny and America’s founding. —Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2025

This is the moment the world got to see manifest destiny. —Doug Melville, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

The days of manifest destiny are back — and better than ever! —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2025

Tellingly, in the upper right-hand corner, Ruscha added a cheap Western cowboy magazine, its rowdy narrative of American manifest destiny having been torn in two. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above