as in marginal
located at or near a border
a frontier town with a reputation for vice and lawlessness
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in border
a region along the dividing line between two countries
the Apaches were once feared on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico frontier
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in countryside
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
Alaska has been called America's last frontier
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frontier
Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Michael Liedtke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
Amid social media’s reckoning, however, artificial intelligence chatbots are emerging as the next frontier in the fight to make technology safer for young people.
—Barbara Ortutay, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Adjective
That worried Huang, who fears a Chinese rival, and White House officials, who believe Chinese dependence on non-frontier American chips is the best way to ensure a lead in AI.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Noun
Internet trailblazer Yahoo is exploring technology’s next frontier with Scout, an answer engine powered by artificial intelligence.
—Michael Liedtke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
Amid social media’s reckoning, however, artificial intelligence chatbots are emerging as the next frontier in the fight to make technology safer for young people.
—Barbara Ortutay, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frontier
Adjective
-
There's not a lot of organization to the rain Tuesday and Wednesday, but tomorrow there is a marginal risk north of I-80, meaning a 1 out of 5 risks for strong to severe storms to develop.—
Mary Ours,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
These are not marginal differences.—
Daniel L Gordon,
Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
William is sent on a spy-adjacent mission by Captain Ezekiel Richardson that takes him through Great Dismal Swamp on the North Carolina–Virginia border, where he promptly gets lost and seriously injured until Ian, who is working as a liaison with the Native tribes, comes upon him.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Deportees, half of whom were minors, had their passports seized and were locked up for months in a rural detention facility near the Panama border, an incident that fueled lawsuits and accusations of human rights abuses.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
They were traced to the purchase of 11 real estate properties, 14 plots of land cultivated as vineyards and olive groves, along with artworks and financial assets in Florence and the neighboring Tuscan countryside.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
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The terrace opens onto uninterrupted countryside vistas, ideal for admiring over a sunset apéritif.—
Madeline Weinfield,
Architectural Digest,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Wadephul told reporters on Thusday at a meeting of democratic countries with the largest economies in France that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was hoping to use the Iran war as a distraction from his attack on Ukraine.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Visitors from more than 100 countries are expected to attend the three-day festival.—
Abby Dodge,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
At that time, in the 1920s, France was really a backwater in theoretical physics.—
Tim Folger,
Scientific American,
16 Mar. 2026
-
But Dublin was a European backwater then.—
Jody Mamone,
Hartford Courant,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Scattered across the continent were hundreds of towns populated by a few hundred people, and each of these towns had an economic hinterland of perhaps 50 to 100 square miles, with the bulk of all agricultural and household production produced and remaining in that area.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Summit Huts already operates five backcountry huts in Summit County and will fundraise to build the Frisco hut.—
John Meyer,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Forecasters say the lack of rain is beginning to increase the threat of wildfires in the backcountry, a situation that could grow worse next weekend when Santa Ana winds are predicted to arrive from the Great Basin.—
Gary Robbins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Longtime fans may recall that on Thanksgiving Night 2009, Woods’ Cadillac Escalade collided with a fire hydrant, tree and several bushes near his Central Florida home, and he was ticketed with careless driving.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Calling a tall bush a tree does not make it so.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frontier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frontier. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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