citizens

Definition of citizensnext
plural of citizen
1
as in nationals
a person who owes allegiance to a government and is protected by it conscientious citizens who regard voting as a duty as well as a right

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of citizens Since the ballot seizure, local election officials in Riverside County have debunked the allegations of irregularities by saying that the citizens' group's numbers were based on raw data that could have included unsigned ballots. Laurie Perez, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026 Congress’s February efforts to resolve the shutdown were complicated by the lawless ICE campaign in Minneapolis, where federal agents killed two American citizens during a brutal crackdown on protests. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026 The price hike has also burdened ordinary citizens. ABC News, 29 Mar. 2026 Undocumented immigrants will remain ineligible for free food, maintaining a long-term status quo (eligibility is limited to citizens and legal permanent residents) on that front. Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2026 Blackouts and economic collapse have sparked widespread desperation in Cuba, with citizens openly protesting the government despite decades of political repression. Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2026 Airplanes, rockets, and the 20th century’s all-encompassing ideologies swept citizens into total wars. Gil Troy, New York Daily News, 29 Mar. 2026 On the other side of the aisle, grassroots activists and a handful of progressives have raised concerns about data centers consuming a significant amount of energy and water to the detriment of neighboring citizens. Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 29 Mar. 2026 The memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the US citizens shot in January by ICE agents, has turned this state into the beating heart of the third No Kings protest, following those in June and October of last year. Diego Parrado, Vanity Fair, 29 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for citizens
Noun
  • After Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government’s emergency decree issued in spring last year, only foreign nationals with Italian parents or grandparents are now allowed to seek citizenship.
    Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
  • His death brings the total at the Adelanto facility to four deaths, all involving Mexican nationals.
    Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The villagers become sympathetic to the revolutionaries, who hide in the hills, and increasingly radicalized.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The villagers start blaming the recluse ‘witch’ of the village who is known to practice black magic.
    William Earl, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Some 1,270 counties lost residents in the year to July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau figures out Thursday.
    Augusta Saraiva, Bloomberg, 26 Mar. 2026
  • The day prior, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that the masses of mostly Shia residents of southern Lebanon could be displaced for an indefinite period.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • What sets them apart is, in exchange for yearly sacrifices in the form of new hires who seem like they won’t be missed, the Virgil’s inhabitants have been granted a conditional immortality that makes the film’s action sequences more fun for a while and then more tedious.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2026
  • While the new research was focused on microgravity conditions, hypothetical Mars inhabitants will experience roughly 38 percent of Earth’s gravity.
    Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Citizens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/citizens. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on citizens

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster