Meanings
alternative near-abroad
- no pluralThe other countries and political regions which are in the vicinity of a country or political region.
North Africa and the Middle East are, after all, Europe's near-abroad.
2011 May 18, Timothy Garton Ash, “Obama can now define the third great project of Euro-Atlantic partnership”, in The Guardian, retrieved 09 Jan 20132 more examples
In his first term, George W. Bush was willing to give Putin a free hand in what Russia calls the near abroad, the states that spun off from the broken Soviet Union.
2004 December 6, Paul Quinn-Judge, Yuri Zarakhovich, “The Orange Revolution”, in Time, page 20Japan has island disputes with all three of its neighbours, Russia, South Korea and China, leaving it diplomatically isolated in its near-abroad.
2013 January 5, “Japanese foreign policy: Down-turn Abe”, in The Economist, retrieved 09 Jan 2013
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Russianближнее зарубе́жье
- Englishnear abroad
Calque of Russian ближнее зарубе́жье (bližneje zarubéžʹje), from ближний (bližnij, “near”) and зарубе́жье (zarubéžʹje, “abroad”).
More words from Russian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 近海外
- 近海外 (jìn hǎiwài)the other countries and political regions which are in the vicinity of a country or political region
Dutch nabije buitenland
- nabije buitenlandthe other countries and political regions which are in the vicinity of a country or political region
French étranger proche
- étranger prochethe other countries and political regions which are in the vicinity of a country or political region
German Nahes Ausland
- Nahes Auslandthe other countries and political regions which are in the vicinity of a country or political region
Russian ближний зарубе́жье
- ближний зарубе́жье (bližnij zarubéžʹje)the other countries and political regions which are in the vicinity of a country or political region
Ukrainian бли́жнє зарубі́жжя
- бли́жнє зарубі́жжя (blýžnje zarubížžja)the other countries and political regions which are in the vicinity of a country or political region
Cite this entry
near abroad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/near%20abroad
“near abroad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/near%20abroad. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “near abroad,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/near%20abroad.
Source: near abroad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.