annexation
n. C / U C1 Advanced US //ˌænɛkˈseɪʃən// UK //ˌænɪksˈeɪʃən// an·nex·a·tion
n. the act of adding land or a territory to your own country, usually by force or legal power.
n. the formal incorporation of a territory into a state or empire, often involving the extension of sovereignty. Typically uncountable in political contexts; countable when referring to specific historical events.
The annexation of the island changed the map.
The government announced the annexation of the neighboring region after a short military campaign.
Historians debate whether the annexation was a legitimate exercise of national sovereignty or an aggressive expansion of imperial borders.
From Medieval Latin annexation-, stem of annexatio (“action of annexing”), from past participle of annecto.