1 gunboat diplomacy | Definition of gunboat diplomacy
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gunboat diplomacy

noun

Definition of gunboat diplomacy

: diplomacy backed by the use or threat of military force

Examples of gunboat diplomacy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 The only alternative would be a world where all states are truly on an equal footing, and that went out the window with gunboat diplomacy, with systematic looting of the developing world through debt, with colonization, with the slave trade itself. — Dana Snitzky, Longreads, "Is This the Most Crowded Island in the World? (And Why That Question Matters)," 20 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gunboat diplomacy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of gunboat diplomacy

1927, in the meaning defined above

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