macronation

English

Alternative forms

• (rare) macro-nation

Etymology 1

From macro- (“large”) +‎ nation (“a country; a sovereign state”).

The micronational sense was likely formed as an antonym of micronation, which was derived from micro- (“small”) + nation (“country”). First attested on 26 November 1996 (see quotations).

Noun

macronation (plural macronations)

1. (micronationalism) An internationally recognised country, as opposed to a micronation; a sovereign state, especially a member or observer state of the United Nations.

   Synonyms: country, nation, sovereign state, see also Thesaurus:country

   • 1996 November 26, Harold D. Thomas, “Monarchy and the micronations”, in alt.talk.hypothetical‎^[2] (Usenet):

     I suggest, however, that micronations perform a useful function for "macronations" -- providing an opportunity to experiment with new and radical forms of government in a world that appears to be increasingly centralized, with less and less room for experimentation.

   • 2000 June 28, Kasimir "K.C." Hunter, “An old secession group in No. Calif.”, in alt.politics.micronations‎^[3] (Usenet):

     They still worked in the US, but sent a notice of secession to the macronation's government. I remember seeing the article in the "Lifestyle" section of the Times, and it started me to wondering.

   • 2006, John Ryan, George Dunford, Simon Sellars, Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations‎^[4], Lonely Planet, →ISBN, page 94:

     But Romkerhall is not simply a fancy gimmick to sell a hotel; like many good micronations, it's taken advantage of a loophole in the law to proclaim its own state of being and to secede from the macronation surrounding it.

   • 2011 April 13, @Dagostinia, “A New Idea: Sell Virtual Acreage”, in List of Micronations Forum‎^[5]:

     Dagostinia pays taxes to the ruling authority when due. We desire not to offend. But Dagostinia does not owe or pay one single penny to the macronation for transactions that happen within our borders.

   • 2018, Simon Sellars, Applied Ballardianism: Memoir from a Parallel Universe, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 242:

     The only alternative for micronations, then, as the existence of Sealand proves, is to hope for survival as a harmless tourist oddity, tolerated by the surrounding macronations and defanged of oppositional intent.

   • 2023, Emperor Adam I [Adam Belcher], History of Adammia: Story of a Micronation, volume 1, Imperial Publishing House, →ISBN, page 41:

     Adammia has always been incredibly selective in the macronations that it chooses to recognise. The reasoning goes that, since the macronations choose not to recognise Adammia, why can't Adammia be selective in return?

   • 2025 January 19, u/RepublicOfSabaria, “Quick Question About Real Guns”, in r/micronations‎^[6], Reddit:

     I don't really know where you guys are located, but you should check your macronation's laws (just like many people here suggested).

2. (geopolitics, rare) A large country; a sovereign state of considerable size, population or both.

   Antonym: microstate

   • 1997, Albert Somit, Steven A. Peterson, Darwinism, Dominance, and Democracy: The Biological Bases of Authoritarianism, Praeger, →ISBN, page 42:

     This brings us, finally, to those countries that we think can safely be labeled as democracies today, keeping in mind the widely accepted two key requirements […] Based on the foregoing discussion, and (to repeat) excluding the microstates, we would offer the following honor roll of what, for want of a better term, we call the democratic "macronations" […]

   • 2007, David J. C. Shearman, Joseph Wayne Smith, The Climate Change Challenge and the Failure of Democracy, Bloomsbury Academic, →ISBN, page 99:

     Excluding microstates with a population of less than one million people there are 29 democratic macronations.

   • 2014, Godfrey Mwakikagile, Africa in The Sixties, New Africa Press, →ISBN, page 202:

     It led to the birth of a new nation, the only one of its kind in Africa as a product of a merger of two independent states. The macronation was Tanzania. Without the Zanzibar revolution, the two countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar would not have united when they did, if at all.

Usage notes

• (micronational sense): some definitions also include Kosovo and Taiwan, and occasionally the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (a.k.a. Western Sahara); macronation almost never refers to other unrecognised states, like Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia etc.

Derived terms

(micronational sense):

• macro
• macro-
• macronational
• macronationalism
• macronationality
• macronationally
• macronational privilege

Descendants

Descendants

• Portuguese: macronação

Etymology 2

From macro- (“large”) +‎ nation (“a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life or ethnicity”).

Noun

macronation (plural macronations)

1. (rare) A large nation; a nation of considerable size in population or membership.

Anagrams

• non-aromatic, nonaromatic