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
Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2025
Once symbols of freedom and frontier spirit, wild horses face an uncertain future, as development, drought, and federal roundups continue to shrink their range.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2025
But that’s not important now — because last weekend, Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk conquered his final frontier — by somehow doing this!
—Jayson Stark, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
The film centers on James Kettleman (Holloway), a hardened East Coast businessman who returns to the Montana frontier under the name Flint, the alias of the notorious killer who raised him.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Noun
As a result, the platform’s heaviest hitters have been quietly building sky-high levels of influence among these audiences, and are now setting their sights on forging new frontiers of entertainment and consumer products in ways that are poised to impact culture in a big way.
—Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2025
Once symbols of freedom and frontier spirit, wild horses face an uncertain future, as development, drought, and federal roundups continue to shrink their range.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2025
But that’s not important now — because last weekend, Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk conquered his final frontier — by somehow doing this!
—Jayson Stark, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
The film centers on James Kettleman (Holloway), a hardened East Coast businessman who returns to the Montana frontier under the name Flint, the alias of the notorious killer who raised him.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frontier
Adjective
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But the total lump sum is also subject to a federal marginal tax rate of up to 37%.—
George Petras,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
-
The damage being done to Chinese refiners via punitive tariffs for doing business with Venezuela would not be worth marginal gains.—
Wesley Alexander Hill,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Permian Basin — the country’s largest oil field, which straddles the Texas-New Mexico border — was estimated by a 2024 study to emit the second-most methane of any oil field in the world.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Poland, whose defense spending is the highest in Europe in terms of gross domestic product, has its own long border with Russian to contend with.—
Daniel R. DePetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Races take place over weeks, and hundreds of miles of countryside.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Raised in the French countryside, where fields of linen bloom each spring, the artist also spent time on the island of Oléron.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for foreign fighters to join his country’s International Legion, which supplements the army’s ranks to counter Russia’s incursion.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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Dryden also represented his country several times, most notably helping Team Canada defeat the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summit Series.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There are endless shallow backwaters along the river to explore and there’s plenty of big water out there, too (Lake Winnieshek, for example, is almost two miles wide in places).—
Alex Robinson,
Outdoor Life,
6 Aug. 2025
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Vigilant doctors and public health experts in charge of government policy mostly kept the anti-vaxxers relegated to the darker corners of medical discussion, and later to the backwaters of social media.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Noun
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That doesn’t mean Disney and Pixar are waving the white flag of surrender and banishing original storytelling to the hinterlands.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
24 June 2025
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On the opposite shore of the lake, the Venetian denomination Bardolino DOC extends on the morainic hills of the hinterland.—
Elisabetta Tosi,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Noun
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Their explorations will include speaking with conservationists, tracking wolverines in the rugged North American backcountry, examining Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and more.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
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Primitive roads there allow people to drive into the backcountry to experience solitude without hiking.—
Jeffrey C. Hallo,
The Conversation,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But while Narula initially wanted to keep the grass, Kemp replaced the bushes with woody perennials ‒ red osier dogwoods, a spicebush, sweet pepper bushes, as well as smooth-leaf hydrangeas.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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Walkers can take in the staggered plots of orange groves and prickly pear bushes in Marsalforn Valley or soak up the quiet back streets of Gharb, the island’s westernmost town, overlooking Dwerja.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frontier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frontier. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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