Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
rogue state

rogue state

8 7.7
A country that breaks international rules and ignores agreements
  • noun
  • /roʊɡ steɪt/
  • Literature
translation icon : estado renegado
  • Many experts consider North Korea a rogue state due to its nuclear weapons program and disregard for international agreements.
  • rogue state policy
  • rogue state threat
  • a dangerous rogue state

So the United Nations is helpless when there are rogue states who do not comply.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Washington insists that these projects are aimed at potential missile threats from some rogue states in Asia.

    Academic text (2001)

  • So the United Nations is helpless when there are rogue states who do not comply.

    Stanford

  • But what state is, in fact, the biggest rogue state in the world?

    Academic text (2007)

  • We're not going to compete with them when it comes to the rogue states that hate America.

  • We talk about dangerous rogue states that are hard to deter.

    Academic text (2007)

  • In short, rogue states are filling the threat gap left by the demise of the Soviet Union.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Individual rogue states have historically proven to be an anomaly.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The U.S. policy of "dual containment" toward these two rogue states gives the impression that both states are equally dangerous.

    Academic text (1995)

  • To begin with, the impact of the Bush-Singh deal on so-called rogue states is likely to be minimal.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Thus, Libya overnight joined the list of the US's 'enemy' or 'rogue' states that sought autonomy.

    Blog text (22)

Synonyms

rogue nation
vsrogue state
  • Literature
4 7.7

A country that ignores rules between countries and behaves dangerously

may act outside norms without stressing irresponsibility
renegade state
vsrogue state
  • Literature
9.5

A state that breaks international rules and acts against other countries

may act outside norms without an openly deliberate stance

Antonyms

law-abiding
63 3.4

Following the law and not breaking rules

How Responsible

rogue state
  • Literature
8 7.7
renegade state
  • Literature
9.5

Surface Forms

rogue state singular
rogue states plural

Morphology

rogue + state

The meaning is directly compositional: 'rogue' (an entity behaving dishonestly or outside norms) combined with 'state' (a nation) yields a country that acts outside accepted international norms. This political/metaphorical use is predictable and has parallels in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Rogue state imagines a country as a rogue — someone or an animal who acts alone and dangerously — and state means country. So a 'rogue state' is a country that does not follow the usual rules between nations and often breaks international agreements.