as in indigenous
belonging to a particular place by birth or origin
an illegally introduced Asian fish that has virtually wiped out the lake's autochthonous species
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 autochthonous
Giovanna Caruso is the fourth generation of Caruso& Minini, a winery appreciated for its wines made both with autochthonous grapes (such as Grillo, Zibibbo, Perricone, Frappato, Nero d’Avola) and international varieties (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Merlot).
—
Elisabetta Tosi, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Far from being autochthonous, folk music is often influenced by the music of cities and courts, the seeds spread by travelers, merchants, migrants, itinerant players, refugees.
—Evan Eisenberg, WSJ, 24 May 2018
Alternatively, maybe the idea of coffee wasn't really autochthonous.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 22 Nov. 2013
Elisabetta Tosi, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Far from being autochthonous, folk music is often influenced by the music of cities and courts, the seeds spread by travelers, merchants, migrants, itinerant players, refugees.
—Evan Eisenberg, WSJ, 24 May 2018
Alternatively, maybe the idea of coffee wasn't really autochthonous.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 22 Nov. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autochthonous
Adjective
-
In some ways this is like many postcolonial nations in the Global South, although Norway’s claims to being a postcolonial country recently freed from the shackles of foreign domination are difficult to sustain in the face of its treatment of indigenous people like the Sámi.—
Ola Morris Innset,
The Dial,
2 June 2026
-
Eradication involves sterilizing male flies using radiation and dispersing them where screwworm flies are indigenous, according to the American Society for Microbiology.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
The injuries themselves aren’t too surprising; wild dingoes hunt kangaroos, and Aboriginal hunters worked with dingoes the same way people in other parts of the world have hunted with dogs for millennia.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 May 2026
-
Australian aboriginal peoples, meanwhile, saw a great boomerang in the stellar formation, while the Native American Shawnee tribe envisioned dancing star maidens.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Autochthonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autochthonous. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
