non-native

adjective

non-na·​tive ˌnän-ˈnā-tiv 

variants or nonnative

: not native: such as

a

of a plant or animal : living or growing in a place that is not the location of its natural occurrence

a non-native fish species

… overgrazing causes grasslands to give way to sagebrush, mesquite and non-native exotic grasses, environmentalists contend.

—Doug McInnis

b

: not born or raised in the place where a particular language is spoken

non-native inhabitants

a nonnative speaker of English [=a person who speaks English but whose native language is not English]

non-native noun

or nonnative

plural non-natives or nonnatives

popular among both natives and non-natives

Synonyms

• alien
• foreign

Examples of non-native in a Sentence

nonnative customs that made the recent immigrants stand out in their new country

Recent Examples on the Web

In many areas of Southern California the non-native palms are considered invasive and are being removed to restore native habitat. —Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 13 Apr. 2025

The dodo’s extinction in the late 1600s, shortly after the arrival of European colonists on Mauritius, was driven by a combination of habitat destruction, hunting and the introduction of non-native animals. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025

Older adults, folks with visual impairments, individuals without access to smartphones and non-native English speakers are disproportionately affected by digital-only discounts. —Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025

The students range from non-native speakers to the children of native speakers, such as the son of Karl Baumann. —Amy Contreras, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for non-native

• creative
• locative
• nonnative
• probative
• rotative
• accommodative
• accumulative
• adjudicative
• administrative
• agglutinative
• ameliorative
• appreciative