ethnicity

noun

eth·​nic·​i·​ty eth-ˈni-sə-tē 

plural ethnicities

1

: ethnic quality or affiliation

aspects of ethnicity

2

: a particular ethnic affiliation or group

students of diverse ethnicities

Synonyms of ethnicity

• nationality
• nation

Examples of ethnicity in a Sentence

a university with a student body of diverse ethnicities

Recent Examples on the Web

The Chinese government launched a brutal crackdown in Xinjiang starting in 2017, sweeping a million or more Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnicities into prisons and internment camps. —ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026

Kavanaugh penned a concurrence that questioned the lower court ruling, writing that ethnicity cannot be the sole reason why somebody is stopped but could be a relevant factor. —Joe Walsh, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation also broke down banking access by race and ethnicity. —Hali Smith april 15, Idaho Statesman, 15 Apr. 2026

Folks of various ethnicities were encouraged to apply, particularly people who are white, Chinese, Hispanic or Indigenous. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 13 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ethnicity

• basicity
• chronicity
• complicity
• cyclicity
• duplicity
• facticity
• felicity
• helicity
• plasticity
• publicity
• rusticity
• simplicity