ethnic cleansing

noun

1. the elimination of an unwanted ethnic group or groups from a society, as by genocide or forced emigration.

ethnic cleansing

noun

1. euphemistic,  the violent removal by one ethnic group of other ethnic groups from the population of a particular area: used esp of the activities of Serbs against Croats and Muslims in the former Yugoslavia

ethnic cleansing

1. A euphemism to describe the forceful removal or genocide of minority ethnic groups (see ethnicity) during the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was used mainly to describe the Serbs' attacks on Muslims in Bosnia and Albanians in Kosovo. (See Slobodan Milosevic and Kosovo War.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethnic cleansing¹

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

The RSF has previously denied charges of targeting civilians and carrying out ethnic cleansing.

From BBC

It has dismissed charges of ethnic cleansing, describing the violence as tribal conflicts.

From BBC

The RSF has also been widely accused of ethnic cleansing in Darfur during this war, and the US has sanctioned it with allegations of genocide.

From BBC

I spent too many years witnessing ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity often carried out because of hatred of a different identity.

From BBC

This is not urban development, it is ethnic cleansing on a mass scale, a war crime and a crime against humanity.

From Salon