as in territory
a small country that is controlled and protected by a larger one
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Recent Examples of protectorate
The British went on to claim regions of the coast and declare them as protectorates.
—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
During the 1830s attempts were made to safeguard Aboriginal peoples by placing them under supervision in protectorates, but these attempts failed and were abandoned after the coming of self-government in the 1850s.
—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
Leveugle's father worked at the French Embassy, and Leveugle attended school in the Moroccan capital during the final years of the French protectorate, the official said.
—
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
This tiny Dutch protectorate in the Leeward Islands hosts no cruise ships.
—
Betsy Andrews,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for protectorate
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
During the 1830s attempts were made to safeguard Aboriginal peoples by placing them under supervision in protectorates, but these attempts failed and were abandoned after the coming of self-government in the 1850s.
—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
Leveugle's father worked at the French Embassy, and Leveugle attended school in the Moroccan capital during the final years of the French protectorate, the official said.
—
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
This tiny Dutch protectorate in the Leeward Islands hosts no cruise ships.
—
Betsy Andrews,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for protectorate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for protectorate
Noun
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The drama starts on the water taxi when Gen immediately sets out to mark her territory by asking Luke to sit next to her instead of Joy.
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Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
Noun
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The Education Department’s civil rights office had long been the last resort for parents who believe their child is facing discrimination at school, with a mandate to review all complaints.
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With James Dolan registering a mandate against going above the second apron, Knicks are not among the teams capable of giving Robinson a meaningful raise.
Noun
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Domestic recycling from secondary sources represents one pathway to reduce that dependency.
-
For incident response agents, this means producing an investigation trail with relevant alerts, logs, metrics, deployment and infrastructure events, and dependencies.
Cite this Entry
“Protectorate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/protectorate. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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