Meaning & use
multinational state
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Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A country whose population includes several distinct national or ethnic groups, each with its own identity, rather than a single dominant nation.
Grammar: Usually countable: a multinational state, many multinational states.
Patterns
- a multinational state like something
Switzerland is often described as a multinational state because several language communities share one country.
The old empire was a multinational state, with many peoples under one ruler.
Historians debate whether a multinational state can stay united without strong shared institutions.
Word forms
| plural | multinational states |
|---|
Common combinations
- a federal multinational state
- Belgium is a federal multinational state.
- become a multinational state
- The country became a multinational state after the war.
- govern a multinational state
- It is hard to govern a multinational state fairly.
- the collapse of a multinational state
- The collapse of the multinational state led to new borders.
Synonyms and how they differ
- multiethnic state
- Multiethnic state stresses ethnic groups, while multinational state stresses groups seeing themselves as nations.
- plural society
- Plural society is a broader social-science term that need not imply national groups with political aims.
- federation
- A federation describes how power is shared, not who lives in the country.
- empire
- An empire is a state ruling over other peoples, often by force, which a multinational state need not be.
Opposites
Word family
- nation noun
- a large group of people with a shared identity
- national adjective
- relating to a nation
- multinational adjective
- involving several nations
- nationality noun
- belonging to a nation
Commonly confused: multinational state or multinational corporation?
multinational state vs multinational corporation
A multinational corporation is a business operating in many countries, not a state with several national groups.
Practice
A country with several national groups that each keep a distinct identity is best called a ___.
Choose one answer.
A multinational state contains several national groups. A nation-state has one dominant national identity, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “multinational state”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.