multipolar

• multi-polar

From multi- + polar.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mʌltiˈpəʊlə/
• Rhymes: -əʊlə(ɹ)

multipolar (comparative more multipolar, superlative most multipolar)

1. (physics, biology) Having more than two poles. [from 19th c.]
2. (politics) Of or relating to an international system in which a number of states wield most of the cultural, economic, and political influence. [from 20th c.]
   • 1964 April, Karl W. Deutsch and J. David Singer, “Multipolar Power Systems and International Stability”, in World Politics, volume 16, number 3, →DOI, page 403:

     If we are mainly concerned, on the contrary, with preventing any rapid escalation of the two-power arms competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, a shift toward a multi-polar world may appear preferable.

   • 2012, Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers, Penguin, published 2013, page 121:

     The first diagram reveals a multi-polar system, in which a plurality of forces and interests balance each other in precarious equilibrium.

   • 2022 February 23, Madeleine Albright, “Putin Is Making a Historic Mistake”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Mr. Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, like to claim that we now live in a multipolar world.

• multipolarity
• tripolar

multipolar (plural multipolars)

1. An electromagnetic machine in which several magnetic poles exist.

Borrowed from French multipolaire. Equivalent to multi- +‎ polar.

• IPA^(key): /ˌmul.ti.poˈlar/

multipolar m or n (feminine singular multipolară, masculine plural multipolari, feminine/neuter plural multipolare)

1. multipolar

multipolar m or f (masculine and feminine plural multipolares)

1. multipolar

• “multipolar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025