irredentist means of or relating to irredentists or their policies. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
irredentist is pronounced /ɪɹɪˈdɛntɪst/.
Why “irredentist” is a great word
IRREDENTIST — [Adjective, Noun] One who advocates for the seizure or recovery of territories considered lost to or historically belonging to their nation, or relating to such policies. From Italian irredentista, from irredento ("unredeemed"), from in- ("not") + redento ("redeemed"). The term emerged in the late 19th century in reference to the Italian political movement. Unlike a "nationalist," who champions a nation's broad interests, or a "separatist," who seeks independence from a state, the irredentist is defined by a specific, cartographic hunger to annex land from another state. It is the faded imperial map in a general's study, the persistent claim in a schoolbook footnote, and the border fence waiting to be moved. It is the politics of a phantom limb, forever aching for a lost geography.
Etymology
From Irredentist.
adj
- Of or relating to irredentists or their policies.“In 1885, a Bulgarian irredentist movement seized control of neighbouring Ottoman-ruled Eastern Roumelia and announced the creation of a Greater Bulgaria.”
noun
- Someone who calls for the seizure or recovery of territories or states currently subject to other countries; an adherent of irredentism.“As the assassination of Sadat proved, the Arab irredentists, like the Zionist ultras, have always been unerring in picking off any incipient mediators.”
- A member or supporter of the Italian party after 1878 which called for the recovery of all Italian-speaking territories subject to other countries.