revanchist

re•van•chist (ruh-VAN-chist)   

Definition:
adj
of or pertaining to a political policy of regaining lost territory or standing, as of a nation or an ethnic group, esp. in order to seek vengeance for a previous military defeat

noun
an advocate or supporter of a political policy of revanche

revanche, revanchism noun; revanchistic adjective

Origin:
1926 (on model of Fr. revanchiste), from revanche "revenge, requital" (1858), especially in reference to a national policy seeking return of lost territory, from Fr. revanche, lit. "revenge," from M.Fr. revenche, back-formation from revenchier

Related:
Related Words: revenge

Sentence Examples:
• The central thesis of my Interregnum meme is "the old is dying, but the new cannot be born". This is because the revanchist forces still fight from their bunkers. Case in point, the Big Banks are fighting Obama on derivative reform. -TPM, 2009

• While Europe sleeps, he suggests, Moscow's secret police are infiltrating foreign governments, establishing a transcontinental energy monopoly and exploiting divisions between Paris, Berlin, Warsaw and Tallinn. Exacerbating all of the above is the fact that no one is doing much to counter this angry, revanchist Russia. -The New Cold War,Time, 2008

• In the months since, Kohl, along with the skilled and dogged Hans-Dietrich Genscher, has made some perspicacious moves, such as his detailed and reasonable plan for confederation in November. But he scared and angered his Eastern neighbors by letting them think he was leaving open the possibility that a unified Germany might press revanchist claims on parts of Poland. -Bringing Kohl Down to Earth, Time, 1990

The Storyline
Anna's father sought to regain the floor and began to speak, but Anna would have nothing of his revanchist ploy. "Why are you here, anyway?" she asked with uncharacteristic bluntness.

Sources: Dictionary.com, Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

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