Synonyms of citizen

citizen

noun

ˈsi-tə-zən 

1

as in national

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

• national
• resident
• freeman
• subject
• inhabitant
• native
• countryman
• compatriot
• nonimmigrant

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• alien
• foreigner
• stranger
• noncitizen
• immigrant
• nonnative

2

as in villager

a person who lives in a town on a permanent basis

claimed that the good citizens of the town were sick of high property taxes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• villager
• resident
• inhabitant
• native
• townsman
• burgher
• occupant
• resider
• townspeople
• town
• national
• habitant
• townie
• dweller
• denizen
• townswoman
• townsfolk
• suburbanite
• subject
• cliff dweller
• urbanite

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• visitor
• tourist
• foreigner
• guest
• alien
• noncitizen
• transient
• nonnative
• gownsman

Synonym Chooser

How is the word citizen distinct from other similar nouns?

The words national and subject are common synonyms of citizen. While all three words mean "a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state," citizen is preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people.

the rights of a free citizen

Where would national be a reasonable alternative to citizen?

Although the words national and citizen have much in common, national designates one who may claim the protection of a state and applies especially to one living or traveling outside that state.

American nationals working in the Middle East

When could subject be used to replace citizen?

The meanings of subject and citizen largely overlap; however, subject implies allegiance to a personal sovereign such as a monarch.

the king's subjects

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of citizen

Instructions for pickup are discreetly communicated to health-care workers, soldiers, politicians, and cops, but word quickly gets out and the medical depots are swarmed by armed citizens desperate to save themselves. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026

There are many more unhoused people since the pandemic; a huge ICE presence that citizens have tried their best to fight back against. — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 July 2026

Keller school board members got a close look at recommendations from the district’s citizens bond advisory committee during its July 23 meeting. — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 July 2026

Lorenzo Thompson, a Jamaican citizen, was arrested 10 days earlier at Nashville International Airport in Middle Tennessee, an ICE spokesperson told USA TODAY. — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 24 July 2026

Phrases Containing citizen

• senior citizen