native

adjective

na·tive | \ ˈnā-tiv

Definition of native

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : inborn, innate native talents

2 : belonging to a particular place by birth a native New Yorker

3 archaic : closely related

4 : belonging to or associated with one by birth hailed in his native Sweden as an influential dramatist— William Peden

5 : natural, normal a generosity that was native to him

6a : grown, produced, or originating in a particular place or in the vicinity : local native fruits and vegetables

b : living or growing naturally in a particular region : indigenous native wildlife of Australia

7 : simple, unaffected our feeling still native and entire, unsophisticated by pedantry— Edmund Burke

8a : constituting the original substance or source the way I must return to native dust— John Milton

b : found in nature especially in an unadulterated form mining native silver

9 chiefly Australia : having a usually superficial (see superficial sense 2) resemblance to a specified English plant or animal

10 capitalized : of, relating to, or being a member of an indigenous people of North or South America : native american

native

noun

Definition of native (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : one born or reared in a particular place

2a : an original or indigenous inhabitant

b : something indigenous to a particular locality

3 : a local resident especially : a person who has always lived in a place as distinguished from a visitor or a temporary resident

Other Words from native Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about native

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Synonyms & Antonyms for native

Synonyms: Adjective

aboriginal, autochthonous, born, domestic, endemic, indigenous

Synonyms: Noun

local, localite, townie (or towny), year-rounder

Antonyms: Adjective

nonindigenous, nonnative

Choose the Right Synonym for native

Adjective

native, indigenous, endemic, aboriginal mean belonging to a locality. native implies birth or origin in a place or region and may suggest compatibility with it. native tribal customs indigenous applies to that which is not only native but which, as far as can be determined, has never been introduced or brought from elsewhere. indigenous plants endemic implies being peculiar to a region. a disease endemic in Africa aboriginal implies having no known others preceding in occupancy of a particular region. the aboriginal peoples of Australia

Examples of native in a Sentence

Adjective

people who are native to France She has a native ability to learn quickly. The island is home to several native species of trees.

Noun

She's a native of France who moved to the United States when she was 15. He wishes he could speak Spanish like a native. The plant is a native of Central and South America.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Fargo, North Dakota native Susan was in Paradise Valley, Montana waiting tables to pay for college while Jeff was there to film scenes for the 1975 movie Rancho Deluxe. — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston's 41-Year Marriage Will Restore Your Faith in Love," 4 Jan. 2019 African American women don't get their Equal Pay Day until August 22, native women's isn't until September 23, and Latina women don't have theirs until November 22. — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, "In Honor of Equal Pay Day, Here Are the Jobs With the Smallest Wage Gaps for Women," 2 Apr. 2019 That Jews are native to the land is a detail to overlook, or to deny outright, until these hatemongers decide what to do with them. — Abigail Shrier, WSJ, "Democrats and Anti-Semitism," 12 Feb. 2019 Blessed thistle, for instance, is a plant that was originally native to the Mediterranean and was used by monks in the Middle Ages to relieve digestion; its leaves are now sometimes recommended to nursing mothers in tea or capsule form. — E.j. Dickson, Vox, "Inside the mommy-friendly, scientifically sketchy world of breastfeeding supplements," 20 Dec. 2018 Chaya This leafy green is native to the Yucatan and has a taste similar to spinach. — Christina Perez, Harper's BAZAAR, "These Ancient Rituals Should Be Your New Go-To Beauty Treatments," 15 Oct. 2018 Rooms are unfussy, lots of white and gray, but with pops of emerald green or cobalt blue, brass fixtures, as well custom wallpaper patterned with native plants and botanical prints from the great Pacific Northwest artist Imogen Cunningham. — Rebecca Misner, Condé Nast Traveler, "What to Do in Portland, OR, in January 2019," 20 Dec. 2018 Situated in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, The Little Nell celebrates the beauty of the state by infusing the property with native plants (yarrows, daisies, and blue columbine to name a few) at every turn. — Michaela Bechler, Vogue, "8 of the Most Beautiful Hotel Gardens in North America," 2 Oct. 2018 The state now joins Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, and Oregon as hosts to this non-native plant. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "The 411 on Giant Hogweed, the Invasive Plant That Can Cause Severe Burns and Blisters," 16 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Both New Jersey natives, Bruce and Patti ran in similar social circles growing up and as young adults. — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa's Love Story Proves They Were Always Meant to be Together," 6 May 2019 Blackwolf identified himself as a south Louisiana native, musician, entrepreneur and owner of the independent record label Power Back Productions. — Melinda Deslatte, The Seattle Times, "Shock at arrest of deputy’s son in black church fires," 14 Apr. 2019 For Rivera, a Bronx native, returning to the place that continues to inspire her work was closing a circle. — Anne Branigin, Teen Vogue, "The Lit Bar Is the Bronx's New Bookstore Putting the Community First," 27 Mar. 2019 Vanessa Rubin, a vocalist who like Dameron is a Cleveland native, has long been a fan of his compositions. — Martin Johnson, WSJ, "‘The Dream Is You: Vanessa Rubin Sings Tadd Dameron’ Review: A Tribute to the Romanticist of the Bebop Movement," 20 Mar. 2019 The 33-year-old, a native of Auvergne west of Lyon, heads the pastry department at Paris’s Le Meurice hotel, overseeing a team of 30. — Jay Cheshes, WSJ, "The Patisseries in Paris That Everyone’s Talking About," 12 Mar. 2019 Executive chef Josh Feathers, a native of East Tennessee who has fished the region’s streams and hunted its deer, presides over the main lodge’s Three Sisters restaurant, where the menu and setting skew a bit more formal. — Mark Rozzo, Town & Country, "Introducing Blackberry Mountain, the Idyllic New Resort from Blackberry Farm," 11 Feb. 2019 Renzo Piano, a native of Genoa and the renowned architect behind the new Whitney Museum and the Shard in London, donated a design for the new bridge that will be built after demolition of the original is finished. — Liz Stinson, Curbed, "Renzo Piano reveals design to replace collapsed Genoa bridge," 21 Dec. 2018 Originally a native of Queens, New York, Rossiello has lived all over the world and is now raising her two daughters in Dakar, Senegal, with her French husband. — Morgen Peck, Glamour, "Cryptocurrency Is Not Just a Boys' Club," 11 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'native.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.