Multilateralism

noun

noun ·7 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Unbiased trade between nations, in contrast to bilateralism.
  2. 2
    A system by which nations consult others in matters of foreign policy, by way of organisations such as the United Nations.

    "Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, a lifelong opponent of multilateralism and its institutions, had pushed for a hardline position, particularly on the role of the IMF."

Example

More examples

"Some observers say COVID-19 could trigger an uptick in multilateralism and greater cross-border solidarity, much as the Spanish flu prompted the ushering in of public health care systems and the first international agencies to combat disease."

Etymology

From multilateral + -ism.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.