divide and conquer
idiom
variants
or divide and rule
: to make a group of people disagree and fight with one another so that they will not join together against one
His military strategy is to divide and conquer.
Examples of divide and conquer in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Our languages have always acknowledged that humanity of familial relationships against the age-old tactic of entities using divide and conquer.
—
Tomris Laffly, IndieWire, 20 June 2024
The movement, which was made up of local committees, professional associations, and political parties, was prone to splits, a tendency abetted by the tireless efforts of the two warlords to divide and conquer.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 27 Apr. 2023
In a joint statement, Rohingya activists urged the Arakan Army leadership not to fall into the military’s trap of playing divide and conquer by trying to pit the two communities against each other.
—Verena Hölzl, New York Times, 3 June 2024
For over a decade, Netanyahu pursued a policy of weakening Palestinian moderates and strengthening Hamas in order to divide and conquer and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
—Matthew Weinstein, Baltimore Sun, 19 Apr. 2024
Clive Owen hopes to divide and conquer with his dual Emmy submissions this year.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
That might raise eyebrows from competitors about where that close partnership ends—indeed, whether Xpeng and Volkswagen could strategize to divide and conquer.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
In short, the Academy Awards’ ability to divide and conquer worked for a number of years.
—Fran Hoepfner, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2024
And then Kate had a hand in that, and obviously Sandra was planting the seed with you to try to divide and conquer.
—EW.com, 8 Mar. 2024
Tomris Laffly, IndieWire, 20 June 2024
The movement, which was made up of local committees, professional associations, and political parties, was prone to splits, a tendency abetted by the tireless efforts of the two warlords to divide and conquer.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 27 Apr. 2023
In a joint statement, Rohingya activists urged the Arakan Army leadership not to fall into the military’s trap of playing divide and conquer by trying to pit the two communities against each other.
—Verena Hölzl, New York Times, 3 June 2024
For over a decade, Netanyahu pursued a policy of weakening Palestinian moderates and strengthening Hamas in order to divide and conquer and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
—Matthew Weinstein, Baltimore Sun, 19 Apr. 2024
Clive Owen hopes to divide and conquer with his dual Emmy submissions this year.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
That might raise eyebrows from competitors about where that close partnership ends—indeed, whether Xpeng and Volkswagen could strategize to divide and conquer.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
In short, the Academy Awards’ ability to divide and conquer worked for a number of years.
—Fran Hoepfner, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2024
And then Kate had a hand in that, and obviously Sandra was planting the seed with you to try to divide and conquer.
—EW.com, 8 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'divide and conquer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near divide and conquer
Cite this Entry
“Divide and conquer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divide%20and%20conquer. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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