cordon sanitaire: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Formal, Academic, Journalistic
Quick answer
What does “cordon sanitaire” mean?
A line or barrier, often of guards or stations, established to prevent the spread of disease from an infected area.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A line or barrier, often of guards or stations, established to prevent the spread of disease from an infected area.
A figurative barrier isolating a person, group, idea, or nation considered dangerous, undesirable, or politically extreme, to prevent their influence from spreading.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning. The term is used in similar registers in both varieties, though British English may use it more frequently in domestic political discourse regarding fringe political parties.
Connotations
Connotes a policy of deliberate isolation, sometimes criticized as undemocratic or praised as necessary containment. In continental European politics, it is a standard term for agreements to exclude extremist parties from government coalitions.
Frequency
Rare in everyday conversation. More frequent in political journalism, academic political science, and historical texts in both varieties.
Grammar
How to Use “cordon sanitaire” in a Sentence
[Government/Party] established a cordon sanitaire around [person/group/country/ideology].The cordon sanitaire against [undesirable entity] began to break down.They are treated with a cordon sanitaire.Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “cordon sanitaire” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The mainstream parties agreed to cordon sanitaire the far-right faction, denying them any committee chairs.
- The government's strategy was to effectively cordon sanitaire the protest movement.
American English
- Several democratic nations moved to cordon sanitaire the authoritarian regime through sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
- The party leadership voted to cordon sanitaire the controversial senator.
adverb
British English
- The group was treated cordon-sanitaire, completely isolated from the decision-making process. (Rare, non-standard)
American English
- (Adverbial use is extremely rare and non-standard for this term.)
adjective
British English
- The cordon-sanitaire policy was debated fiercely in the editorial pages.
- They adopted a cordon-sanitaire approach to the extremist group.
American English
- A cordon-sanitaire strategy was implemented to contain the ideological threat.
- The editorial called for a new, cordon-sanitaire agreement among centrist parties.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare. Might be used metaphorically for isolating a problematic subsidiary or a rogue trader.
Academic
Common in political science, history, and public health literature to describe policies of containment.
Everyday
Very rare. Used only by educated speakers discussing politics or current events.
Technical
Standard term in epidemiology for a physical barrier; standard term in political science for a coalition strategy.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “cordon sanitaire”
Strong
Neutral
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “cordon sanitaire”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “cordon sanitaire”
- Misspelling as 'cordon sanitair' or 'sanitaire cordon'.
- Using it to mean any simple boycott or personal snub, losing the sense of an organized, collective barrier.
- Incorrect pronunciation placing stress on 'san' instead of the final syllable of 'sanitaire' in American English.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it is a fully naturalised loan phrase from French, used in English since the 19th century. It is found in major English dictionaries.
Yes, its original and literal meaning is in public health and medicine, referring to a physical barrier to contain disease. However, the metaphorical political use is now more common.
The most common American pronunciation is /ˌkɔːr.dɑːn ˌsæn.ɪˈter/, with the stress on the final syllable of 'sanitaire', rhyming with 'air'.
In many European democracies like Belgium or France, mainstream parties have longstanding agreements not to form coalition governments with far-right or far-left extremist parties, which is described as a 'cordon sanitaire'.
A line or barrier, often of guards or stations, established to prevent the spread of disease from an infected area.
Cordon sanitaire is usually formal, academic, journalistic in register.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Build a wall of silence (related concept, but not an idiom for the term itself)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a CORDON (a line of police) that is SANITARY (for health). It's a 'sanitary line' keeping something unclean (disease or dangerous ideas) from spreading.
Conceptual Metaphor
DANGEROUS IDEAS ARE DISEASES / POLITICAL ISOLATION IS QUARANTINE.
Practice
Quiz
In modern political journalism, 'cordon sanitaire' is MOST often used to describe: