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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frontier
M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Star Trek is different; the resolutely sci-fi voyages of James T Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, and their successors on the final frontier are much more likely to be underpinned by science or, at least, the franchise's version of it.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 11 Sep. 2025
While scientists are amassing a fair amount of data regarding our gut microbiomes, the oral microbiome is a bit of a new frontier.
—New Atlas, 11 Sep. 2025
Closing those gaps is the next frontier.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Noun
The fragile island is one of the last remaining ecological treasures on the planet to be flipped into a resource frontier.
—M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Star Trek is different; the resolutely sci-fi voyages of James T Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, and their successors on the final frontier are much more likely to be underpinned by science or, at least, the franchise's version of it.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 11 Sep. 2025
While scientists are amassing a fair amount of data regarding our gut microbiomes, the oral microbiome is a bit of a new frontier.
—New Atlas, 11 Sep. 2025
Closing those gaps is the next frontier.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frontier
Adjective
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What looks like distant diplomacy or marginal disruption is, in fact, defining competitiveness for the decade ahead.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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That marginal shift to a more dovish direction shows a meaningful change to the policy thinking among the committee members.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Delhi sees Beijing as its biggest threat, particularly since some border skirmishes that began in 2020.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
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Richard Gabriel Moritz | Unsplash Many readers will know this coastline—which arcs its way from the French border in the west to Tuscany in the east, via the ancient port city of Genoa—for the five absurdly picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre.—
Spencer Elliott,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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On highways and surface roads in the rural countryside west of Detroit, the 2025 Ford Explorer was smooth and quiet, with plenty of power for highway acceleration.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Forty-five minutes later, the racetrack appears almost without warning — coiled like a basking viper in the Tuscan countryside.—
Jonathan Hawkins,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Neural highways that once buzzed with activity are becoming quiet country roads, rarely traveled and slowly overgrown.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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This administration is trying to thrust our country into turmoil in order to reap power for themselves.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Walmart’s growth, coupled with investments from Walton and her family, has turned this former backwater into a heartland hotspot, known for mountain biking trails, a thriving art scene, and one of the country’s fastest-growing populations.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
5 Sep. 2025
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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
Noun
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But in the post-Grand Slam hinterland, with many top players resting, there are always opportunities for players on the rise.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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But in 2007, Israeli intelligence serendipitously stumbled on evidence of a Syrian nuclear reactor—a miniature replica of North Korea’s Yongbyon facility—that was housed in a nondescript, aboveground complex in the hinterland near the Euphrates River.—
VIPIN NARANG,
Foreign Affairs,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The inland 48th Congressional District, which stretches from Temecula through some San Diego County suburbs and the backcountry, is one of the key districts the state’s Democrats hope to flip with redistricting.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Sep. 2025
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What Wild Land packages standard with the Sky Rover is the type of simple urinal bag backpackers and other backcountry adventurers often carry.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Messages Robinson is believed to have sent on Discord stated a need to retrieve a rifle from a pick-up point, leaving the rifle in a bush, watching the area where a rifle was left and having wrapped the rifle in a towel, according to the affidavit.—
Dalia Faheid,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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Jurors saw some wobbling footage that appeared to be taken from inside a bush, though prosecutors did not explicitly make clear if the footage was taken from Routh's perch.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frontier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frontier. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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