1
: of, relating to, or based on a race (see race entry 1 sense 1a)
a racial minority
2
: existing or occurring between races (see race entry 1 sense 1a)
racial equality
Examples of racial in a Sentence
What is your racial identity?
There was racial tension on campus.
Recent Examples on the Web
Audio recordings previously obtained by the Observer and other news outlets featured McFadden berating staff, calling them untrustworthy and calling a white captain a racial slur.
—
Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 5 Jan. 2026
This was right and necessary in many ways, of course, and Lindsay’s policies (and the broader growth of public-sector unions) helped bring enormous progress to the city’s racial minorities.
—Daniel Wortel-London, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
So are kids from different racial, ethnic, social or religious backgrounds.
—Dr. Mahvash Madni, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
In 2018, The New Yorker profiled Chase’s Community co-star, Donald Glover, and reported that Chase would attempt to disrupt Glover’s scenes and made racial jokes on set.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for racial
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Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 5 Jan. 2026
This was right and necessary in many ways, of course, and Lindsay’s policies (and the broader growth of public-sector unions) helped bring enormous progress to the city’s racial minorities.
—Daniel Wortel-London, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
So are kids from different racial, ethnic, social or religious backgrounds.
—Dr. Mahvash Madni, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
In 2018, The New Yorker profiled Chase’s Community co-star, Donald Glover, and reported that Chase would attempt to disrupt Glover’s scenes and made racial jokes on set.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for racial
Cite this Entry
“Racial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racial. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
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Medical Definition
racial
adjective
ra·cial
ˈrā-shəl 
: of, relating to, or based on a race
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