denizen

noun

den·​i·​zen ˈde-nə-zən How to pronounce denizen (audio)
1
: inhabitant
denizens of the forest
2
government : a person admitted to residence in a foreign country
especially : an alien (see alien entry 2 sense 1b) admitted to rights of citizenship
3
: one that frequents a place
nightclub denizens

Examples of denizen in a Sentence

one of those muscle-bound denizens of the gym the polar bear is an iconic denizen of the snowy Arctic
Recent Examples on the Web The Summer of Love images are a good example of that: Mr. Penn decamped to San Francisco, setting up a makeshift studio and inviting in the denizens of the city to sit for him. Mark Holgate, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2024 The film, which follows a mysterious stranger who provides hope for survival to the denizens on a distant moon amid threats by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, is the first in a two-part saga. Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 Until then the Chinese government had to informally abduct those who resisted its wishes, including publishers of books unkind to the denizens of Zhongnanhai, the famed leadership compound in Beijing. Doug Bandow, National Review, 10 Feb. 2024 With the Warriors on the end of a back-to-back, Curry had to kick into another gear with an energy infusion from the fresh-legged bench denizens to keep the team on pace. Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 3 Feb. 2024 The parallels to today are not lost on the excitable denizens of Britain’s political class. Mark Landler, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2024 The Florida Aquarium In downtown Tampa’s Channel District, The Florida Aquarium has interesting exhibits showcasing Florida’s most iconic natural environments and denizens, including alligators, river otters, and wetlands birds like roseate spoonbills. Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 25 Feb. 2024 The town’s denizens variously pass, reject, deviate from, travel through, ignore or lose time. Ilana Masad, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2024 Whimsy was also the domain of the Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, whose signature was a race of voluptuously bloated figures — denizens, from priests to bullfighters, of an almost cartoonish world that, to him, had to do not with corpulence but with the sensuality of human life. William McDonald, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'denizen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English denizeine, from Anglo-French denisein, denzein inhabitant, inner part, inner, from denz within, from Late Latin deintus, from Latin de- + intus within — more at ent-

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of denizen was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near denizen

Cite this Entry

“Denizen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denizen. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

denizen

noun
den·​i·​zen ˈden-ə-zən How to pronounce denizen (audio)
: inhabitant
especially : a person, animal, or plant found in a particular region or environment

More from Merriam-Webster on denizen

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