glasnost

G2L1A1S1N1O1S1T1

noun

1980s and early 1990s policy of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev to allow more government transparency; often paired with perestroika

UncommonScrabble 9

Meanings

nounglasnost (countable and uncountable, plural glasnosts)

plural glasnosts

  1. countablehistoricaluncountable1980s and early 1990s policy of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev to allow more government transparency; often paired with perestroika

    [Gorbachev] did not champion perestroika and glasnost alone; much of the nomenklatura had decided that the Soviet economic and social model was dysfunctional, corrupt and endemically inefficient and had to change.

    2007 October 13, Will Hutton, “Will China's next leader be its Gorbachev?”, in The Observer, →ISSN, archived from the original on 09 Jan 2025
    1 more example

    Gorbachev would introduce glasnost (openness and freedom) and perestroika (economic restructuring) to Russia under his tenure, ultimately freeing thousands of political prisoners and dissidents and trying to address the shortages in food and goods that had become the hallmarks of the failing Soviet economy.

    2004, Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage

Origin

  1. Russianгла́сность
  2. Russianгла́сность
  3. Englishglasnost

Borrowed from Russian гла́сность (glásnostʹ, “openness”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic غْلَاسْنُوسْت, جْلَاسْنُوسْت
  • غْلَاسْنُوسْت (ḡlasnust)a policy of the Soviet Union
  • جْلَاسْنُوسْت (glasnust)a policy of the Soviet Union
Bulgarian гла́сност
  • гла́сност (glásnost)a policy of the Soviet Union
Chinese Mandarin 開放政策 /开放政策
  • 開放政策 /开放政策 (kāifàng zhèngcè)a policy of the Soviet Union
Czech glasnosť
  • glasnosťa policy of the Soviet Union
Danish glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Dutch glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Estonian glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Finnish glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
French glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
German Glasnost
  • Glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Greek γκλάσνοστ, γλάσνοστ
  • γκλάσνοστ (gklásnost)a policy of the Soviet Union
  • γλάσνοστ (glásnost)a policy of the Soviet Union
Hebrew גלאסנוסט
  • גלאסנוסט (glasnost)a policy of the Soviet Union
Hungarian glasznoszty
  • glasznosztya policy of the Soviet Union
Italian glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Japanese グラスノスチ
  • グラスノスチ (gurasunosuchi)a policy of the Soviet Union
Korean 글라스노스트
  • 글라스노스트 (geullaseunoseuteu)a policy of the Soviet Union
Lithuanian viešumas
  • viešumasa policy of the Soviet Union
Norwegian glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Polish głasnost
  • głasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Portuguese glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Russian гла́сность
  • гла́сность (glásnostʹ)a policy of the Soviet Union
Slovak glasnosť
  • glasnosťa policy of the Soviet Union
Spanish glásnost
  • glásnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Swedish glasnost
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
Turkish glasnost, açıklık
  • glasnosta policy of the Soviet Union
  • açıklıka policy of the Soviet Union
Ukrainian гла́сність
  • гла́сність (hlásnistʹ)a policy of the Soviet Union
Cite this entry
APA

glasnost. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glasnost

MLA

“glasnost.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glasnost. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “glasnost,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glasnost.

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