nationality

na·tion·al·i·ty

noun \ˌna-shə-ˈna-lə-tē, ˌnash-ˈna-\

plural na·tion·al·i·ties

Definition of NATIONALITY

1

: national character

2

: nationalism 1

3

a : national status; specifically : a legal relationship involving allegiance on the part of an individual and usually protection on the part of the state b : membership in a particular nation

4

: political independence or existence as a separate nation

5

a : a people having a common origin, tradition, and language and capable of forming or actually constituting a nation-state b : an ethnic group constituting one element of a larger unit (as a nation)

Examples of NATIONALITY

1. The country is home to five nationalities and seven languages.
2. people of all races and nationalities
3. She's American, but her parents are of Japanese nationality.
4. He has held French nationality for the past 20 years.
5. The university has students of over 50 nationalities.

First Known Use of NATIONALITY

1691

Related to NATIONALITY

Synonyms: ethnicity, nation, race

Related Words: minority; clan, family, folk, house, kindred, tribe

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Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

Rhymes with NATIONALITY

abnormality, actuality, amorality, animality, atonality, axiality, bestiality, bilinguality, bimodality, bipedality, cardinality, classicality, coevality, comicality, commonality, communality, conjugality, cordiality, corporality, criminality, criticality, ethicality, externality, factuality, farcicality, fictionality, functionality, generality, geniality, hospitality, ideality, illegality, immorality, immortality, informality, integrality, internality, irreality, joviality, lexicality, liberality, lineality, literality, logicality, lognormality, marginality, musicality, mutuality, notionality, nuptiality, optimality, parfocality, partiality, personality, physicality, practicality, principality, prodigality, punctuality, quizzicality, rationality, seasonality, sensuality, sexuality, siege mentality, sociality, speciality, subnormality, surreality, technicality, temporality, textuality, topicality, triviality, typicality, unmorality, unreality, verticality, virtuality, whimsicality