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 Rates rose in every age group and every racial and ethnic group studied. — Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 But choices like Wintour’s silence the very people hurt by ethnic hatred. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 20 Aug. 2026 Traditional medicine, wellness rituals, and spiritual practices reflect the island’s complex cultural history and diverse ethnic origins – a syncretic blending of Taíno Indigenous, African, and Spanish traditions. — Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Achievement gaps between racial and ethnic groups also narrowed for students in early elementary school and high school, with Black and Hispanic students posting faster growth in test scores, Marrero said. — Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ethnic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ethnic
  1. racial
  2. ethnical
Adjective
  • Adding West High School will require drawing a third zone, and the zone boundaries will affect the racial and socioeconomic balance of schools, along with transportation times and feeder patterns for elementary and middle schools.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Parton's impact broke barriers Responses to Parton's death have transcended geographical, racial and gender-based lines.
    — Jay Stahl, USA Today, 26 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 2 Sep. 2026.

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