balkanise

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A form of balkanize — To break up into small, mutually-hostile units, especially on a political basis.

Similar
Balkanize
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Meanings

balkanise1

verbbalkanise (third-person singular simple present balkanises, present participle balkanising, simple past and past participle balkanised)

present singular third person balkanises · participle present balkanising · participle past balkanised · past balkanised

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of balkanize.

Balkanise2

verbBalkanise (third-person singular simple present Balkanises, present participle Balkanising, simple past and past participle Balkanised)

present singular third person Balkanises · participle present Balkanising · participle past Balkanised · past Balkanised

  1. UKnonstandardNon-Oxford British English standard spelling of Balkanize.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbdivide a territory into small, hostile states

Similar
Balkanize
Broader
dividesplitsplit up
Also see
balkanize

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From Balkan + -ise.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

balkanise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balkanise

MLA

“balkanise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balkanise. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balkanise,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balkanise.

Source: balkanise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.