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