Melanesian
noun
Mel·a·ne·sian
ˌme-lə-ˈnē-zhən 
-shən
1
: a member of the dominant native group of Melanesia
2
: a language group consisting of the Austronesian languages of Melanesia
Melanesian
adjective
Examples of Melanesian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On December 2, Vanuatu and the Melanesian Spearhead Group opened the hearings giving, in essence, an opening argument.
—
Jon McGowan, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Vanuatu and the Melanesian Spearhead Group were given one hour to make an opening statement.
—Jon McGowan, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
Set in the warm waters of the southwest Pacific, some 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia, New Caledonia is home to 270,000 people, including 41% Melanesian Kanaks and 24% of European origin, mostly French.
—Gabriel Stargardter, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2024
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.
Jon McGowan, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Vanuatu and the Melanesian Spearhead Group were given one hour to make an opening statement.
—Jon McGowan, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
Set in the warm waters of the southwest Pacific, some 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia, New Caledonia is home to 270,000 people, including 41% Melanesian Kanaks and 24% of European origin, mostly French.
—Gabriel Stargardter, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2024
Cite this Entry
“Melanesian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Melanesian. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Melanesian
noun
Mel·a·ne·sian
ˌmel-ə-ˈnē-zhən
-shən
: a member of the most numerous Indigenous group of Melanesia
Melanesian
adjective
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share