su·per·pow·er

(so͞o′pər-pou′ər)

A powerful and influential nation, especially a nuclear power that dominates its allies or client states in an international power bloc.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

superpower

(ˈsuːpəˌpaʊə)

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) an extremely powerful state, such as the US

2. (Electrical Engineering) extremely high power, esp electrical or mechanical

ˈsuperˌpowered adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

su•per•pow•er

(ˈsu pərˌpaʊ ər)

n.

1. a very powerful nation, esp. one with significant interests and influence outside its own region.

2. power greater in scope or magnitude than that which is considered natural or has previously existed.

3. power, esp. mechanical or electric power, on an extremely large scale secured by the linking together of a number of separate power systems.

[1940–45]

su′per•pow`ered, adj.

superpower

A very powerful country, especially one with nuclear weapons.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

superpower - a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world

great power, major power, world power, power

body politic, country, nation, res publica, commonwealth, state, land - a politically organized body of people under a single government; "the state has elected a new president"; "African nations"; "students who had come to the nation's capitol"; "the country's largest manufacturer"; "an industrialized land"

hegemon - a leading or paramount power

Translations

supergrandsuperpouvoirsuperpuissance

szuperhatalom

strapotere superpotenza

superkraftsupermakt

superpower

[ˈsuːpəˌpaʊəʳ] N → superpotencia f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

superpower

[ˈsuːpə^rpaʊə^r] n (POLITICS) → superpuissance f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

superpower

n (Pol) → Supermacht f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

superpower

[ˈsuːpəˌpaʊəʳ] n (Pol) → superpotenza

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in periodicals archive

In Shenyang, I found a once proud government stronghold now convulsed by free-market commerce, high unemployment, anxiety about the future and a certain longing for days past." According to Glain, China is no single entity that can be easily categorized as an emerging superpower or stumbling giant.

Introduction

No wonder Latin American nations are eagerly wooing the world's newest superpower, both as a parking spot for some of China's staggering $600 billion in foreign reserves and as a welcome counterweight to Western nations.

Hot commodity

The Series SD is available in three varieties: Superpower, Maxipower and Rare Earth.

Permanent Plate Magnets

For years, our national leaders and the media have told us that the United States is the last global superpower. Understandably, this has been a source of security and pride for many Americans.

The state of the military: America has the most technologically formidable military in history, yet the burdens of serving as global policeman have left our nation perilously undefended

On its own, the idea of the European Union as a rising superpower is an easy sell.

Trans-Atlantic tripe: Jeremy Rifkin's theory of failed states

September 2003--an extensive print campaign featuring "The New Superpower in Harvesting" was initiated with an eight-page insert placed in national publications such as Successful Farming, Farm Industry News, and The Furrow.

John Deere pumps up the volume on new-product rollout

Superpower Syndrome: America's Apocalyptic Confrontation with the World By Robert Jay Lifton Thunder's Mouth Press/Nation Books.

Empire unbound

Even if its urges to power and domination seem historically recognizable, it nonetheless represents a new constellation of forces bound up with what I've come to think of as "superpower syndrome." By that term I mean a national mindset--put forward strongly by a tight-knit leadership group--that takes on a sense of omnipotence, of unique standing in the world that grants it the right to hold sway over all other nations.

American apocalypse

And we know that America at the Cold War's end found itself in much the same situation as Rome encountered upon its destruction of Carthage--a lone superpower capable of imposing hegemonic order upon a potentially chaotic world of vastly lesser states; a power with far-flung client states and military outposts supporting multitudinous commercial and diplomatic interests around the world; a naval force without peer anywhere upon the sea; a power proud of its democratic institutions and distinctive heritage as a republic in which the idea of the state superseded the importance of any governing individual or faction; and a budding imperial entity that wrapped its muscular body of self-interest in a finely embroidered cloak of idealism and self-perceived virtue.

Rome on the potomac: like it or not, America today finds itself an imperial power committed to maintaining an empire. The only question is what kind of empire? (The United States)(Cover Story)

The carnage on September 11, 2001, significantly changed the Bush administration's foreign policy and agenda, as the world's only true superpower now had to deal with attacks on its homeland.

A Single Superpower in a Quasi-Unipolar Political System: Who Defines the Role of the United States?

One, I believe, is concern--or might it be a little envy?--over the US being seen as the world's sole superpower. The US economy is equal to the second, third and fourth national economies combined.

What Europe should understand about the US: Bryan Hamlin, a British-born American citizen, challenges Europe's prejudice towards the United States. (The FAC Essay)

The unilateralist approach sends the wrong message, especially when it comes from the world's only superpower. The arguments for such an approach are egregious and don't really hold up to closer inspection.

Unilateralism is it necessarily bad?