# imperialism

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/ · frequency rank #17,637

## Definitions
1. The policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations.
2. Any undue extension of political, intellectual, or other forms of authority, particularly in regards to systems that benefit the Western world at the cost of the Global South.

## Etymology
From imperial + -ism.

## Easily confused with
- **imperialist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/imperialism-vs-imperialist)

## Common misspellings (16)
`imeprialism`, `immperialism`, `impeiralism`, `imperailism`, `imperiailsm`, `imperialims`, `imperialismm`, `imperialissm`, `imperiallism`, `imperialsim`, `imperilaism`, `imperrialism`, `impperialism`, `impreialism`, `ipmerialism`, `miperialism`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/imperialism