ethnic cleansing en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
Possibly a calque of Serbo-Croatian etničko čišćenje, though this is probably attested later. Popularized by (and still often associated with) the wars in former Yugoslavia during the 1990s; however, versions of the phrase have been attested since the 1860s in various languages (with the earliest attestation translating directly to the phrase being Romanian purificare etnică from 1941) and it probably arose independently on numerous occasions.
Meanings
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(euphemistic, uncountable) The mass expulsion or killing of people belonging to one ethnic group by those of another.
These television stations are part of the apparatus and power of Milosevic. This is the apparatus he has used to do the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
1999 April 24, Martin Kettle, Alex Brummer, quoting Tony Blair, “The bombing goes on”, in The Guardian:That’s not because imperialism cares about the fate of Palestine, to which it’s entirely indifferent, but because Israeli aggression and ethnic cleansing, to say nothing of genocide, is a permanent cause of explosive popular anger in the region and increasingly, internationally.
2026 May 14, David Finkel, “Middle East War Expands: A Spreading Global Disaster”, in Against the Current, volume 41, number 2, via EBSCOhost, →ISSN, page 6:
Deriveds
Relateds
holocaust · Holocaust · genocide · religious cleansing · mass murder
Synonyms
Translations (66)
fa پاکسازی قومی (ethnic cleansing) · sv etnisk rensning (ethnic cleansing) · hu etnikai tisztogatás (ethnic cleansing) · fi etninen puhdistus (ethnic cleansing) · be этні́чная чы́стка (ethnic cleansing) · cmn 民族淨化 /民族净化 (ethnic cleansing) · ur نسلی صفایا (ethnic cleansing) · kk этникалық тазалау (ethnic cleansing) · fr nettoyage ethnique (ethnic cleansing) · tr etnik temizlik (ethnic cleansing) · ar تَطْهِير عِرْقِيّ (ethnic cleansing) · tpi bagarapim man bilong narapela lain (ethnic cleansing) · cmn 種族滅絕 /种族灭绝 (ethnic cleansing) · nb etnisk rensning (ethnic cleansing) · da etnisk udrensning (ethnic cleansing) · et etniline puhastus (ethnic cleansing) · ca neteja ètnica (ethnic cleansing) · cs etnická čistka (ethnic cleansing) · uz etnik tozalash (ethnic cleansing) · eu garbiketa etniko (ethnic cleansing) · vi thanh lọc sắc tộc (ethnic cleansing) · is þjóðernishreinsun (ethnic cleansing) · sh етничко чишћење (ethnic cleansing) · yo ìpàrankanrun (ethnic cleansing) · eo etna purigado (ethnic cleansing) · bg етни́ческо прочи́стване (ethnic cleansing) · pl czystka etniczna (ethnic cleansing) · ka ეთნიკური წმენდა (ethnic cleansing) · de ethnische Säuberung (ethnic cleansing) · mn угсаатны цэвэрлэгээ (ethnic cleansing) · lv etniskā tīrīšana (ethnic cleansing) · ro epurare etnică (ethnic cleansing) · ur نسلی تطہیر (ethnic cleansing) · lt etninis valymas (ethnic cleansing) · nl etnische zuivering (ethnic cleansing) · hy էթնիկ զտում (ethnic cleansing) · sh etničko čišćenje (ethnic cleansing) · fr épuration ethnique (ethnic cleansing) · nn etnisk reinsing (ethnic cleansing) · es depuración étnica (ethnic cleansing) · uk етні́чна чи́стка (ethnic cleansing) · he טִהוּר אֶתְנִי \ טיהור אתני (ethnic cleansing) · ro purificare etnică (ethnic cleansing) · sq spastrim etnik (ethnic cleansing) · az etnik təmizləmə (ethnic cleansing) · sk etnická čistka (ethnic cleansing) · cmn 種族清洗 /种族清洗 (ethnic cleansing) · es limpieza étnica (ethnic cleansing) · ko 민족청소 (ethnic cleansing) · ru этни́ческая чи́стка (ethnic cleansing) · hy էթնիկական զտում (ethnic cleansing) · sl etnično čiščenje (ethnic cleansing) · yo ìpẹ̀yàrun (ethnic cleansing) · tg поксозии этникӣ (ethnic cleansing) · el εθνοκάθαρση (ethnic cleansing) · cmn 種族淨化 /种族净化 (ethnic cleansing) · ky этникалык тазалоо (ethnic cleansing) · ja 民族浄化 (ethnic cleansing) · mk етничко чистење (ethnic cleansing) · tg поксозии қавмӣ (ethnic cleansing) · it pulizia etnica (ethnic cleansing) · kk этникалық тазарту (ethnic cleansing) · hi जातीय संहार (ethnic cleansing) · ms pembersihan etnik (ethnic cleansing) · ga glanadh eitneach (ethnic cleansing) · pt limpeza étnica (ethnic cleansing)