frontier 1 of 2

Definition of frontiernext
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

frontier

2 of 2

noun

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

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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

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 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
Perched on a hillside overlooking the foothills, The Fort is modeled after a historic 19th-century frontier trading post. Sponsored Content, Denver Post, 2 May 2026 Privacy concerns and the next frontier So should AI conversations have greater privacy protections? Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for frontier
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frontier
Adjective
  • There was maybe some marginal overreach—or, at least, people weren’t ready to go as far as the Twitter left wanted to go on certain issues.
    Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • Here are the unmarried, who used to be marginal.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 3 May 2026
Noun
  • The designation East Palestine may have come from its location in far east Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, in Appalachia.
    Mary Norris, New Yorker, 1 May 2026
  • The 400-acre Carowinds amusement park straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina border in Charlotte and Fort Mill.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 30 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The insurgents, who operate at ease, crossing borders and dominating much of the countryside in Mali and Burkina Faso, now feel emboldened to target capital cities.
    Ulf Laessing, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Rivers of Babylon, written in 1991 by the Slovak author Peter Pišťanek, tells the story of a young, simple-minded, and broad-shouldered ex-soldier called Rácz who leaves his impoverished village in the Slovakian countryside to work as the stoker of a hotel in Bratislava.
    Big Think, Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Though Baudelaire was influenced by Poe’s macabre imagination, decadence never developed its own school in nineteenth-century America, then still a young country.
    Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026
  • Want to learn more about faraway countries on free embassy tours?
    Fritz Hahn, Washington Post, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • Some of the coolest crappie fishing of the year occurs in backwaters that are easily accessible by foot.
    Cory Schmidt, Outdoor Life, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Gold transformed Victoria from a pastoral backwater into the most celebrated colony of the empire.
    Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • On arrival, guests are paired with a personal local guide–think of it as the hinterland’s answer to a butler—on hand to arrange everything from restaurant bookings to last-minute requests, typically handled with a quick text.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.
    Big Think, Big Think, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • But firefighters were hoping that the region would receive the sort of abundant spring rains that keep chaparral wet for longer periods of time, especially in the backcountry, where most big wildfires occur.
    Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
  • The other islands within the national park, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Barbara, are more remote with more limited ferry services but offer greater isolation and backcountry opportunities.
    Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Yet lilac bushes can be monsters.
    Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026
  • Although cucumbers and squash plants get big, bush-type varieties can be cultivated in pots and small spaces.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Frontier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frontier. Accessed 8 May. 2026.

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