Meanings
nounmultilateralism (countable and uncountable, plural multilateralisms)
plural multilateralisms
- countableuncountableUnbiased trade between nations, in contrast to bilateralism.
- countableuncountableA system by which nations consult others in matters of foreign policy, by way of organisations such as the United Nations.
Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, a lifelong opponent of multilateralism and its institutions, had pushed for a hardline position, particularly on the role of the IMF.
2018 December 1, Julian Borger, “G20 agreement backs 'rules-based' order but bows to Trump on trade reforms”, in The Guardian, London, United Kingdom, →ISSN, archived from the original on 29 Apr 2019
Origin
Translations
Chinese Cantonese 多邊主義 /多边主义
- 多邊主義 /多边主义 (do¹ bin¹ zyu² ji⁶)tendency of nations to act with others
Chinese Mandarin 多邊主義 /多边主义
- 多邊主義 /多边主义 (duōbiānzhǔyì)tendency of nations to act with others
French multilatéralisme
- multilatéralismetendency of nations to act with others
German Multilateralismus
- Multilateralismustendency of nations to act with others
Greek πολυμέρεια
- πολυμέρεια (polyméreia)tendency of nations to act with others
Indonesian multilateralisme
- multilateralismetendency of nations to act with others
Italian multilateralismo
- multilateralismotendency of nations to act with others
Japanese 多国間主義
- 多国間主義 (takokukanshugi)tendency of nations to act with others
Latin multilateralismus
- multilateralismustendency of nations to act with others
Persian چندجانبهگرایی
- چندجانبهگراییtendency of nations to act with others
Portuguese multilateralismo
- multilateralismotendency of nations to act with others
Spanish multilateralismo
- multilateralismotendency of nations to act with others
Cite this entry
APA
multilateralism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/multilateralism
MLA
“multilateralism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/multilateralism. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “multilateralism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/multilateralism.
Source: multilateralism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.