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 doctor then draws a hairline that matches your age, ethnicity, and facial symmetry. — Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026

The church’s origins date to the arrival of Christian missionaries in Mombasa in 1844, and its membership has long represented a diverse cross section of Kenyan society, with members of various ethnicities and social strata. — Stephanie Triplettall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026

Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa, the big three of the three hundred–plus ethnicities that made up the national character, exerted their outsized influence in the shattering wave of military coups that preceded and followed the brutal civil war. — Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026

The victim was so badly decomposed, the medical examiner couldn’t even estimate her age or ethnicity. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 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