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Western world

Western world

28 3.4
Countries in Europe, North America, and South America that have similar ways of life, governments, and economies
  • noun
  • /ˈwɛstərn wɜrld/
translation icon : Occidente
  • Many people in the Western world value democracy and human rights.
  • the culture of the Western world

I think a lot of things that we think in the Western world are prescribed by God.

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Examples

  • The Western world has been influential in shaping global trade policies.

  • Yet the political leaders of the Western world stood up to the communist threat with some constancy and determination.

    Academic text (1998)
  • And this is actually the position that most people, at least in the Western world, have had until they force people to care.

  • The Iron Lady of the Western world.

  • I think a lot of things that we think in the Western world are prescribed by God.

  • His faith and courage changed the Western world.

  • For centuries, technology has enjoyed a generally favorable reputation in the Western world.

    Academic text (2003)
  • This time they're fighting for the whole Western world, against a common enemy.

  • But the view in the Western world of alcohol as a primary cause of social ills was much older.

  • And that's not the way the Western world functions nowadays.

Synonyms

West
vsWestern world
515 2.4

Countries in Europe and the Americas that share similar political and cultural values

also includes economic characteristics
Occident
vsWestern world
  • Archaic
1 9.8

The western part of the world, especially Europe and the Americas

is used as a modern group defined by shared cultural political and economic traits

Surface Forms

Western world singular

Morphology

western + world

The meaning is directly compositional: 'western' specifies the cultural/geographic orientation and 'world' denotes the sphere of countries or societies, so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to countries/regions associated with the West. This modifier+noun pattern and the cultural/geographic concept are cross-linguistically common, making the expression immediately understandable at B1 level.

Etymology

Western world may come from maps and history: people in Europe called lands to the left on a map Western, or 'the West', and when Europe and lands such as North and South America shared similar religion, politics, and work, they were thought of as one world. So today 'Western world' means countries with similar ways of life and government.