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
National Archives/Getty Images/Hulton Archive The term manifest destiny was coined by journalist John O'Sullivan that year in an essay praising the annexation of Texas and looking ahead to California — then part of Mexico — as being the next.
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Scott Neuman, NPR, 7 Feb. 2025
An architect of manifest destiny, Bancroft wrote his history in an attempt to make the United States’ founding appear inevitable, its growth inexorable, and its history ancient.
—Jill Lepore, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2019
Such a manifest destiny move would gain Illinois the third-oldest NFL franchise in the Packers.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2025
Stone often wrote against the grain of the patriarchy, sexism, xenophobia, manifest destiny, and colonialism that characterized many other efforts the field.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for manifest destiny
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Scott Neuman, NPR, 7 Feb. 2025
An architect of manifest destiny, Bancroft wrote his history in an attempt to make the United States’ founding appear inevitable, its growth inexorable, and its history ancient.
—Jill Lepore, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2019
Such a manifest destiny move would gain Illinois the third-oldest NFL franchise in the Packers.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2025
Stone often wrote against the grain of the patriarchy, sexism, xenophobia, manifest destiny, and colonialism that characterized many other efforts the field.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for manifest destiny
Cite this Entry
“Manifest destiny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifest%20destiny. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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