Aryan

1 of 2

adjective

Ary·​an ˈa-rē-ən How to pronounce Aryan (audio)
ˈer-ē-;
ˈär-yən How to pronounce Aryan (audio)
1
2
a
: of or relating to a hypothetical ethnic type illustrated by or descended from early speakers of Indo-European languages
b
: nordic
c
used in Nazism to designate a supposed master race of non-Jewish Caucasians usually having Nordic features
3
: of or relating to Indo-Iranian or its speakers

Aryan

2 of 2

noun

1
2
a
: nordic
b

Examples of Aryan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
Sweeney, on the precipice of totalizing fame, has an adoring legion, the most extreme of whom want to recruit her as a kind of Aryan princess. Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2025 Not altogether surprisingly, the cases actually turn out to be closely linked — by Houser (a scarily persuasive John Carroll Lynch), a transparently corrupt and fearsomely sadistic sheriff who runs the meth operation with members of the aforementioned Aryan gang. Joe Leydon, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025 Eugenics gained popularity in early 20th century America, and Nazi Germany embraced it to carry out Adolf Hitler’s plan for an Aryan master race. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 31 July 2025 The curious pun read to critics as a dog whistle for white supremacy, eugenics, and fascism in Trump‘s America — a wink to Sweeney’s correspondence to an Aryan archetype. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2025 Ray scopes out the old haunts and doesn’t find much outside confirmation that the killer Aryan meth-running biker gang is still on the hunt for both of them. Andy Andersen, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025 Sure, the Malfoys are in effect more or less pureblood Aryan stand-ins, but this is also a series that had almost no minority characters at all and none in major roles. Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025 And the Nazis reinvented Jesus as a muscular Aryan hero who fought Jews. John Blake, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025 An insanely brutal end for a local pawn shop owner who didn’t do anything except sell Manny a firearm and call the Aryan bikers a trio of dumbasses to their faces. Andy Andersen, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Sanskrit ārya noble, belonging to an ancient people of northern India speaking an Indo-European dialect

First Known Use

Adjective

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Aryan was in 1839

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aryan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Aryan. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

Aryan

noun
Ary·​an
ˈar-ē-ən,
ˈer-,
ˈär-yən
1
2
: a member of the subgroup of Indo-European speakers ancestral to speakers of Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages
Aryan adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on Aryan

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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