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manifest destiny

[man-uh-fest des-tuh-nee] / ˈmæn əˌfɛst ˈdɛs tə ni /
NOUN
expansionist doctrine
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He is the master of the manifest destiny soap opera, after all.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

Tucked into his speech was a mention of the 19th Century doctrine of "manifest destiny" – the idea that the US was divinely ordained to expand its territory across the continent, spreading American ideals.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

George Washington, though omitted from this equation, had always been present in Borglum’s vision of a sculpture that would represent the manifest destiny that had shaped the United States.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2025

Tellingly, in the upper right-hand corner, Ruscha added a cheap Western cowboy magazine, its rowdy narrative of American manifest destiny having been torn in two.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2024

But because ambition succeeds best when disguised by virtue, he wanted to furnish the Alliance with an animating ideology—a manifest destiny, as it were, or mission civilisatrice.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann



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