Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having or conceiving multiple centers of power or influence.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having many poles, as a nerve-cell or a dynamo: opposed to unipolar, bipolar. See cut under cell, 5.
  • noun An electromagnetic machine in which several magnetic poles are used or exist. Also called multiple pole.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having many poles; in Anat., designating specif. a nerve cell which has several dendrites.
  • adjective (Elec.) Having, or pertaining to, many poles, as a field magnet or armature of a dynamo, or a dynamo having such a field magnet or (sometimes) armature.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective physics, biology Having more than two poles
  • adjective Having multiple centres of political or military influence

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The 'decade of disorder' perhaps, reflecting the fragmentation of power into what historians of the present call a multipolar world.

    Palestinian Pundit 2009

  • Mr. Sarkozy said Monday he would recommend fostering a more "multipolar" currency system, in which the dollar retains a "prominent" role but which lets other currencies emerge.

    France Proposes Way to Raise Yuan David Gauthier-Villars 2011

  • Mr. Sarkozy believes that fostering a more "multipolar" currency system will also help address the increasing thirst of fast-growing emerging nations for reserve assets, which the dollar alone can't quench.

    Sarkozy Likely to Suggest Nathalie Boschat 2011

  • This tack will be complemented with greater emphasis on joining emerging powers like Brazil, Russia and South Africa for developing a more "multipolar" world order.

    The Axis of Grudging Cooperation 2010

  • Is there a kind of multipolar security spiral now taking place in northeast Asia?

    Christopher Chyba: Is There a Kind of Multipolar Security Spiral Now Taking Place in Northeast Asia? 2008

  • After two decades of talk about a "multipolar" world, that world has arrived.

    Ascent of Sovereign-Wealth Funds 2008

  • Mr. Schröder defends the "strategic partnership" between Moscow and Berlin, arguing that in this "multipolar" world, Europe must "create close relations with Russia."

    Schröder on Georgia 2008

  • Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Tuesday defended Beijing's growing influence in Africa, saying China was helping build a "multipolar" world.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2007

  • Brazilians have hailed their new working alliance with China in global trade talks as the harbinger of a "multipolar" world, less dominated by the United States.

    DIVIDE AND CONQUER 2007

  • Brazilians have hailed their new working alliance with China in global trade talks as the harbinger of a "multipolar" world, less dominated by the United States.

    Divide and Conquer 2007

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