ethnic

adjective

ˈeth-nik How to pronounce ethnic (audio)
Definition of ethnicnext
as in racial
of, relating to, or reflecting the traits exhibited by a group of people with a common ancestry and culture a festival featuring ethnic food and music

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ethnic For Marni's summer collections, Consuelo brought her idiosyncratic sensibility to looks that mixed ethnic and vintage elements with intriguing cutting. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 16 Aug. 2026 His act made use of racial and ethnic slurs, under the philosophy that taboo words lost their maiming edge with repetition. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026 Moreover, Hamas intended to sacrifice its own Palestinian civilian population in Gaza by deliberately putting them in the line of fire, suggesting an intent to destroy a part of their own national, ethnic and religious group. — Daniel Kolkey, Oc Register, 16 Aug. 2026 Founder Borut Kokelj has collected around 25,000 jokes, carefully avoiding material targeting specific ethnic or religious groups. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ethnic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ethnic
  1. racial
  2. ethnical
Adjective
  • Rates rose in every age group and every racial and ethnic group studied.
    — Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The case attracted national attention in part because of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of racial
Adjective
  • Genocide is defined as attempting to partly or wholly destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
    — Ellie Cook Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The United Nations broadly defines genocide as seriously harming or killing members of a group with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
    — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2022
Definition of ethnical

Browse Nearby Words

ethics
ethnic
ethnical
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Cite this Entry

“Ethnic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ethnic. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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