Join free

macronation

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

macronation¹

Where it comes from

From macro- (“large”) + nation (“a country; a sovereign state”).

The micronational sense was likely formed as an antonym of micronation, which was derived from micro- (“small”) + nation (“country”). First attested on 26 November 1996 (see quotations).

noun macronations · macro-nation

  1. An internationally recognised country, as opposed to a micronation; a sovereign state, especially a member or observer state of the United Nations. I suggest, however, that micronations perform a useful function for "macronations" -- providing an opportunity to experiment with new and radical forms of government in a world that appears to be increasingly centralized, with less and less room for experimentation.

    Similar: country, nation, sovereign state

  2. rare A large country; a sovereign state of considerable size, population or both. This brings us, finally, to those countries that we think can safely be labeled as democracies today, keeping in mind the widely accepted two key requirements […] Based on the foregoing discussion, and (to repeat) excluding the microstates, we would offer the following honor roll of what, for want o

    Opposite: microstate

macronation²

Where it comes from

From macro- (“large”) + nation (“a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life or ethnicity”).

noun macronations · macro-nation

  1. rare A large nation; a nation of considerable size in population or membership.

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"macronation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/macronation. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

macronation. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/macronation

Chicago

"macronation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/macronation.

BibTeX
@misc{macronation_2026,
  title = {macronation},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/macronation},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}