patriotism

plural patriotisms

1. countableuncountableLove of one's country; devotion to the welfare of one's compatriots; passion which inspires one to serve one's country.

   The subject of his play was the fate of Agis, the young and heroic King of Sparta: it gave the ideal of patriotism, relieved by the tenderness of sorrow, and the fidelity of love.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A First Night”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 69

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   That public virtue, which among the ancients was denominated patriotism, is derived from a strong sense of our own interest in the preservation and prosperity of the free government of which we are members.

   1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol I, ch 1-pt ii

   In the hour of death we shall have the consolation to see established in the land of our fathers the most wonderful work of wisdom and disinterested patriotism that has ever yet appeared on the globe.

   1803, Thomas Jefferson, Letter to George Clinton, volume ME 10:440

   Both Blimps and highbrows took for granted, as though it were a law of nature, the divorce between patriotism and intelligence. If you were a patriot you read Blackwood's Magazine and publicly thanked God that you were "not brainy". If you were an intellectual you sniggered at the Union Jack and regarded physical courage as barbarous. It is obvious that this preposterous convention cannot continue... Patriotism and intelligence will have to come together again.

   1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn

   I told the Governors that I had never questioned the capacity or the sincerity or the ability of a man because he belonged to a different political party. No party had an overriding claim to patriotism. The times, I said, demanded that we put away our differences and close ranks in a determined effort to make our system of government function.

   1971, Lyndon Johnson, “"I feel like I have already been here a year"”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 28

   The most extraordinary positive development in Czechoslovakia since its creation in 1918, the tumultuous outpouring of patriotism and protest was dared by students and intellectuals and soon embraced steel-workers and elderly pensioners.

   1990, Ivana Edwards, “A funeral in Prague”, in Massachusetts Review, volume 31, number 3, page 317

2. countableuncountableThe actions of a patriot.
3. countableuncountableThe desire to compete sharply with, and perhaps also dominate, other nations; nationalism.

   Near-synonyms: chauvinism, superpatriotism

   4 more examples

   Patriotism cannot be good. What produces war is the desire for an exclusive good for one’s own nation – that is called patriotism. And so to abolish war, it is necessary to abolish patriotism, and to abolish patriotism, it is necessary first to become convinced that it is an evil.

   1896 January 2, Leo Wiener, “Patriotism or Peace”, in The Kingdom of God is within You; Christianity and Patriotism Miscellanies, Moscow, translation of letter to Manson by Count Lev N. Tolstoy

   Economic protectionism within the older member states has, in fact, increased in the past year. Calls for economic patriotism have given rise to efforts to create national champions designed to protect key strategic industries from foreign competition.

   2006 Nov/Dec, “Danger and Opportunity in Eastern Europe”, in Foreign Affairs, volume 85, number 6, page 117

   The idea that Ireland's rugby and soccer fans would have to go to England to follow their teams was intrinsically unpalatable, Kelly said, but he was also motivated by common sense: "That would have been an immense cost to the economy, it would have been a major drain on the fans, but the prestige and image of the country would also have been affected badly." / His pragmatic patriotism paid off.

   2007 February 6, Michael Moynihan, “For First Time, Croke Park Is Ireland^s Common Ground”, in Washington Post

   "It is not only an international sports event, but also a very important political mission," stated a 2006 opinion article in the People's Daily. "It is not only an Olympic feast for the Chinese people, it can also arouse Chinese patriotism."

   2008 February 15, Peter Ford, “Spielberg helps spoil China^s hope for a politics-free Olympics”, in Christian Science Monitor, page 1

   Synonyms: chauvinism, superpatriotism