: a member of an aboriginal people of India
—usually used in plural
Synonyms
Examples of tribal in a Sentence
Adjective
a tribal solidarity that transcends all other loyalties or bonds
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2023
Horace would go on to serve as the tribal chief and the nonvoting Penobscot representative in the State Legislature.
—Will Dudding, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023
Medium Build’s Nick Carpenter and Christopherson will also perform a benefit concert Friday night in Anchorage to raise money for a tribal school in Wainwright.
—Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2023
Also complicating the availability of detailed tribal census data are new population thresholds by the Census Bureau.
—Mike Schneider and Morgan Lee, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023
When the Ojibwe were forced to cede much of their Wisconsin territory to the United States in the 1800s and move onto reservations, the tribal leaders at the time chose places that had significant wild rice beds.
—Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2023
In attendance, gathered in a stone and timber building, were tribal members, agency officials, missionaries and traders.
—Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Sep. 2023
According to the Pashtun tribal tradition, though, women have no such right.
—Ross McDonnell, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2023
Haaland said a few dozen tribal communities rely on the petroleum reserve to harvest caribou, birds and fish.
—Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Sep. 2023
Washington Post, 19 May 2021
The tribal began Monday in Austin, Texas — where Jones lives and broadcasts his show — following months of delays.
—Jim Vertuno, Hartford Courant, 27 July 2022
State, tribal and community leaders have worked together to ensure Westwater will be connected to an electrical grid next month.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Mar. 2022
The next day Deshawn, Erika, and Xander head to the final tribal.
—Joseph Longo, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2021
The figure accounts for all line-of-duty deaths through Dec. 31, 2021, and represents law enforcement officers at the federal, state, county and municipal levels, as well as those in the tribal, campus, military and territorial sectors.
—Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 14 Jan. 2022
Meanwhile, Erika’s superb performance at the final tribal mirrored her gameplay.
—Joseph Longo, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2021
My lowest moment in the game actually provided me the most healing outside of the game, and that was my breakdown at the final seven tribal.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2021
And who knows what’s going to happen once the Luvu tribe breaks up and heads to tribal.
—Joseph Longo, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2021
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Adjective
Darfur’s Arab tribes ruled the land, raiding with impunity, fighting each other and the militias over tribal boundaries and—most important—over who got to control the region’s lucrative gold mines.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2023
Horace would go on to serve as the tribal chief and the nonvoting Penobscot representative in the State Legislature.
—Will Dudding, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023
Medium Build’s Nick Carpenter and Christopherson will also perform a benefit concert Friday night in Anchorage to raise money for a tribal school in Wainwright.
—Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2023
Also complicating the availability of detailed tribal census data are new population thresholds by the Census Bureau.
—Mike Schneider and Morgan Lee, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023
When the Ojibwe were forced to cede much of their Wisconsin territory to the United States in the 1800s and move onto reservations, the tribal leaders at the time chose places that had significant wild rice beds.
—Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2023
In attendance, gathered in a stone and timber building, were tribal members, agency officials, missionaries and traders.
—Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Sep. 2023
According to the Pashtun tribal tradition, though, women have no such right.
—Ross McDonnell, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2023
Haaland said a few dozen tribal communities rely on the petroleum reserve to harvest caribou, birds and fish.
—Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Sep. 2023
Noun
The 74-page compact, negotiated between DeSantis and Marcellus W. Osceola Jr., chairman of the Seminole tribal, provides the tribe with exclusive rights to a wide array of casino and sports gambling in exchange for billions of dollars in payments to the state.
—Washington Post, 19 May 2021
The tribal began Monday in Austin, Texas — where Jones lives and broadcasts his show — following months of delays.
—Jim Vertuno, Hartford Courant, 27 July 2022
State, tribal and community leaders have worked together to ensure Westwater will be connected to an electrical grid next month.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Mar. 2022
The next day Deshawn, Erika, and Xander head to the final tribal.
—Joseph Longo, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2021
The figure accounts for all line-of-duty deaths through Dec. 31, 2021, and represents law enforcement officers at the federal, state, county and municipal levels, as well as those in the tribal, campus, military and territorial sectors.
—Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 14 Jan. 2022
Meanwhile, Erika’s superb performance at the final tribal mirrored her gameplay.
—Joseph Longo, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2021
My lowest moment in the game actually provided me the most healing outside of the game, and that was my breakdown at the final seven tribal.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2021
And who knows what’s going to happen once the Luvu tribe breaks up and heads to tribal.
—Joseph Longo, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2021
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tribal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing tribal
Dictionary Entries Near tribal
Cite this Entry
“Tribal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tribal. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
tribal
adjective
trib·al
ˈtrī-bəl
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a tribe
tribally
adverb
-bə-lē
More from Merriam-Webster on tribal
Nglish: Translation of tribal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of tribal for Arabic Speakers
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