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Third World

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: third-world, third world, and Third-World

English

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Third-World countries according to sense 1 shown in gray.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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the Third World

  1. (historical, politics) Those countries not aligned with the west or the east during the Cold War.
  2. (sometimes derogatory) Developing countries, especially those of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
    Synonym: Global South
    Antonym: First World
    Our district has many immigrants from Third World countries
    • 2003 May 3, John H. McWhorter, “Hating Whitey Worldwide”, in Manhattan Institute‎[1], archived from the original on 27 February 2025:
      How about — take a deep breath — eliminating the subsidies to American farmers that keep Third World farmers from being able to make a living selling their products?
  3. (attributive, derogatory, informal) Any developing country, or a country lacking the perceived internationally respected ideal standards of a society (e.g. sufficient rule of law and internationally respected level of prosperity).
    • 2014 March 5, Sean McElwee, “Six Ways America Is Like a Third-World Country”, in Rolling Stone‎[2], archived from the original on 16 April 2021:
      In some instances, the U.S.’s performance is downright abysmal, far below foreign countries that are snidely looked-down-upon as “third world.”
    • 2023 March 31, John Haltiwanger, “Trump and his sons say his indictment makes the US like a 'third world' country, but plenty of other democracies have prosecuted ex-leaders”, in Business Insider‎[3], archived from the original on 2 October 2025:
      […] "IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!" […] "The ruling party is trying to jail the opposition leader like a third world dictatorship! It's happening before your very eyes," Trump Jr. said in a tweet. […] Meanwhile, Eric Trump condemned the indictment as "third world prosecutorial misconduct […]
  4. People of marginalized or exploited races, collectively.
    • 1981 April 11, Maxine Feldman et. al., “East Coast Women's Festival”, in Gay Community News, page 5:
      Although it has been publicized that 1/3 of the musicians are women of color. these women were chosen without consulting the Third World Women's community.

Usage notes

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  • This term is sometimes considered offensive and acceptable only in its historical sense when referring to nations that were not geographically aligned with the West or the East during the Cold War. Even in that sense, the term non-aligned country is generally preferred. See also developed country § Usage notes.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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