Southeast Asian

1 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or characteristic of Southeast Asia (a region of indefinite boundaries usually thought of as including Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam and sometimes Singapore, Indonesia, and/or the Philippines) or its people

Southeast Asian

2 of 2

noun

plural Southeast Asians

1

: a native or inhabitant of Southeast Asia

2

: a person of Southeast Asian descent

Examples of Southeast Asian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Wildfires in Indonesia are also the source of widespread haze that’s blanketing much of the region and making Southeast Asian cities such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur among the world’s most polluted. — Jay Ganglani, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

An example is Shopee, a Southeast Asian e-commerce platform, which now handles approximately 80% of customer queries through AI chatbots, helping cut its cost per customer contact by 30% year on year. — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Zidni, who previously worked at Disney, watched global streamers pull back from Southeast Asian originals after 2023. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026

This year also sees the return of the festival’s non-competitive section dedicated to Southeast Asian cinema, Crosscut Asia, held in partnership with the Japan Foundation, which stopped running during the pandemic period. — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1898, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1943, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Southeast Asian

• athanasian
• abrasion
• caucasian
• equation
• eurasian
• evasion
• invasion
• occasion
• persuasion
• suasion