natives

plural of native
1
as in residents
a usually longtime resident of a locality the natives seem to resent the summer tourists even though they depend upon them for their livelihood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in aborigines
a member of the first people to inhabit a region the anthropologist spent two years living among the island's natives and observing and documenting their customs and traditions

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 natives The two were natives of Jamaica and knew each other from the neighborhood. Theodore Parisienne, New York Daily News, 19 June 2026 Lahontan Cutthroats Cutthroats are natives of the American West. Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026 Digital natives often arrive more comfortable with emerging technologies and can help organizations understand both AI’s potential and its downsides. Preston Fore, Fortune, 17 June 2026 Residents and natives of Lawrence -- a city of about 96,000 people -- pulled out all the stops to welcome the team ahead of their inaugural match against Argentina on Tuesday. Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 17 June 2026 But the silver medal makes Hammer an All-American for the fifth time and continues a run of podium finishes for Idaho natives in Eugene, Oregon. Idaho Statesman, 15 June 2026 New York City natives Wu-Tang Clan are set to perform. Erin Lassner, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026 Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Bilal, Meek Mill, Jazmine Sullivan, and Lil Uzi Vert are all Philadelphia natives who have headlined the Picnic, underscoring The Roots' intention to curate a multigenre, multigenerational contemporary Black music experience. Ime Ekpo, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026 Sterman, after much contemplation, decided to use natives but didn’t develop a detailed plan. Nicole Sours Larson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for natives
Noun
  • Fees will be waived until Sunday, June 21 to encourage residents to adopt adult dogs ages six months and older and to make room for incoming strays.
    Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 18 June 2026
  • However, a growing number of residents have been regularly showing up to city council meetings advocating for a moratorium on data center development, pointing to issues with noise pollution, water use, and electricity costs.
    Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 June 2026
Noun
  • Cape Verde’s flight paths For its World Cup debut, the smallest nation by population at the tournament is paying homage to the roughly 525,000 inhabitants who live on 10 volcanic islands off the coast of Africa.
    Steve Douglas, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026
  • Here, Sue Brown, left, of Athens, and Ann Massenburg, of Macon, law students, cuddle four of the tree-trunk inhabitants, which seem none too impressed.
    AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 18 June 2026
Noun
  • While some bars and coffee shops are seeing record days, others say locals are avoiding the area entirely.
    The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
  • As the mitigation work continued, a contractor took off his socks and shoes and rolled up his pants to his knees and proceeded to wade into the pool to place an ozone nanobubble tube as tourists and locals milled about on a sunny morning.
    Katie Vogel, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Natives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/natives. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on natives

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster