as in strangers
a person who is not native to or known to a community
I can tell by your accent you're a foreigner in these parts
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Recent Examples of foreigners
Orbán’s strained relationship with the European Union comes from his positioning on Russia’s war against Ukraine, his country’s firm support of Israel and his hard stance on not accepting migrants, which led to EU financial sanctions for his refusal to open the country's border to foreigners.
—
Simon Constable, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2026
In Algeria, a tiny Catholic community of around 9,000 people made up mostly of foreigners exists alongside the Sunni Muslim majority of about 47 million, according to Vatican statistics.
—ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026
Almost all the roughly 2,300 residents of Roj are foreigners.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 11 Apr. 2026
Kataib Hezbollah has been accused of kidnapping other foreigners.
—Todd Richmond, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Madrid has, however, gone further by moving to regularize nearly half a million undocumented migrants and by courting many more foreigners, a push that its socialist prime minister has argued is helping drive an economic boom.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 6 Apr. 2026
Like every guide with the foreign tour operator Intourist, she was vaguely affiliated with the secret services (KGB) and so filled out reports about her interactions with foreigners that no one read.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
From the time of the foreigners’ first arrival in 1543 until their expulsion in the 1630s, there was a modest amount of cultural transmission.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
More than half the Jews living there during the Holocaust, however, were foreigners – including nearly 100,000 refugees who had recently fled Nazi violence.
—Shannon Fogg, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2026
Simon Constable, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2026
In Algeria, a tiny Catholic community of around 9,000 people made up mostly of foreigners exists alongside the Sunni Muslim majority of about 47 million, according to Vatican statistics.
—ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026
Almost all the roughly 2,300 residents of Roj are foreigners.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 11 Apr. 2026
Kataib Hezbollah has been accused of kidnapping other foreigners.
—Todd Richmond, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Madrid has, however, gone further by moving to regularize nearly half a million undocumented migrants and by courting many more foreigners, a push that its socialist prime minister has argued is helping drive an economic boom.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 6 Apr. 2026
Like every guide with the foreign tour operator Intourist, she was vaguely affiliated with the secret services (KGB) and so filled out reports about her interactions with foreigners that no one read.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
From the time of the foreigners’ first arrival in 1543 until their expulsion in the 1630s, there was a modest amount of cultural transmission.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
More than half the Jews living there during the Holocaust, however, were foreigners – including nearly 100,000 refugees who had recently fled Nazi violence.
—Shannon Fogg, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreigners
Noun
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Online and offline, motherhood has started to resemble a real-life Truman Show — a performance carried out under constant observation, where strangers across the country appoint themselves judge and jury.—
Micah Barkley,
Bloomberg,
10 Apr. 2026
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The earnestness of these calls to join is refreshing compared to the distance currently felt in many places, where the disconnection can make neighbors feel like strangers.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Both men are competing for seats that are expected to remain in Republicans’ hands, but Trump’s backing reflects a preference for the establishment candidates in races where other challengers are positioning themselves as conservative outsiders.—
Tia Mitchell,
AJC.com,
15 Apr. 2026
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Indoors, reportedly, one came across a corresponding ease, to the surprise of outsiders.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foreigners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreigners. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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