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

Starting in June, dozens of postal carriers in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Huntsville, Alabama will ask personal questions about race, ethnicity and the relationships of residents in households that haven't responded to a test census questionnaire online. —ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026

In Bexar County, where Latinos make up 60% of the population, a Hispanic surname can benefit candidates of that ethnicity. —Molly Smith, San Antonio Express-News, 20 Mar. 2026

Cancelling grants and funding on the basis of DEI constitutes discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, and other qualities, the organizations claimed. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026

For decades, Asian American actors struggled to get jobs because they were not considered box office draws, said Nancy Wang Yuen, a professor at Crafton Hills College who studies race and ethnicity in film. —Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 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