as in marginal
located at or near a border
a frontier town with a reputation for vice and lawlessness
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frontier
Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 1 Jan. 2026
The wall, whose construction began in the year 122, was built to mark the northwestern boundary of the Roman Empire, serving as a frontier, customs post, and reminder of the reach of power.
—Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
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
Wolfram Indigenous Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton’s new movie is billed as a period Western set on the 1930s colonial frontier.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 1 Jan. 2026
The wall, whose construction began in the year 122, was built to mark the northwestern boundary of the Roman Empire, serving as a frontier, customs post, and reminder of the reach of power.
—Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frontier
Adjective
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So there's really no choice but for the four major conference commissioners to compile a set of rules and guidelines that make at least a marginal bit of sense.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center has placed much of Missouri, including the Kansas City metro, under a marginal risk of severe weather.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Outside the capital, guerrilla groups and organized crime syndicates are exploiting the power vacuum along Venezuela’s borders and in its resource-rich interior.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
9 Jan. 2026
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Born in France but a staple of Moroccan cinema, Laxe has a talent for scaling international borders and belief systems to peer into worlds that feel dangerously tactile and spiritually slippery.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Alan Cumming and his extravagant outfits are back, hosting a brand new group of 23 Traitors and Faithfuls in the Scottish countryside.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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Think clawfoot tubs overlooking rolling countryside and sliding barn doors separating farmhouse chic living spaces.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Hollywood couple Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors received Guinean citizenship after tracing their ancestry to the West African country through DNA testing.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Our country is built on immigrants.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Few beyond North Carolina’s borders grasp the outsize role Newby, 70, has played in transforming the state’s top court from a relatively harmonious judicial backwater to a front-line partisan battleground since his election in 2004.—
Doug Bock Clark,
ProPublica,
30 Dec. 2025
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The nightclub, located along the Arpora River backwaters, had a narrow entry and exit that forced the firefighters to park their tankers about 1,300 feet away, delaying the efforts, the news agency said.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
7 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Sellew is a bold new voice, using sharp, stylish prose to explore the hinterland of contemporary mating.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
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In the arid Brazilian hinterland, girls play poised between their mothers’ difficult pasts and fantastic dreams for the future.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
17 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Kittitas County Sheriff said four men were touring the backcountry near Longs Pass trail on Friday afternoon when they were caught in the mass of snow.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
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Sheriff's deputies, along with the Kittitas County Search and Rescue volunteers, responded and reached the remote area using snowmobiles and winter backcountry equipment, according to the sheriff's office.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Now the birds’ favored nesting habitats, the native pisonia trees and octopus bushes, are back.—
Susan Casey,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
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The tracks of Eastern cottontail are also a common sight — especially near thickets of chokecherry, elderberry and other bushes that provide safe shelter.—
Susan Koch,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frontier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frontier. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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