natives

noun

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

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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

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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 All are German natives and Peterka and Reichel both represented Germany at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 20 Aug. 2026 Kraken, founded in 2011, historically has been the exchange that serves crypto natives. — Tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026 Plus, the diseases that affect European honeybees also have an impact on natives. — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Opening in Moscow, the film shifts into territories where different traits, beliefs and ethnographic features emerge, revealing the power relations between natives and colonisers. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026 Early recordings listed native Southern live oaks/Quercus virginiana and pine trees alongside other natives, like the Red Maple/Acer rubrum, Florida Maple/Acer barbatum, PawPaw/Asimina obovata, and Red buckeye/Aesculus pavia. — Candace Barone, Florida Times-Union, 15 Aug. 2026 The Brewers can call themselves the best team with the most Southern California natives. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026 Thirsty Souls Bringing European brewing traditions to Mount Airy, Slovakian natives Jan and Maria Kriska have created quite a following at Thirsty Souls. — Kristy Tolley, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026 John Krasinski and Matt Damon are good friends, both proud Boston natives. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for natives
  1. residents
  2. inhabitants
  3. locals
Noun
  • Global economic instability has created unease at home, and a property crisis coupled with high youth unemployment has convinced some residents that securing a stable job within the government is the best path.
    — Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
  • About 600 residents in nearby municipalities in Waimes and Bütgenbach, in Liège province near the German border, were told to evacuate Saturday as winds shifted and smoke spread through the area.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of residents
Noun
  • Aris and co-screenwriter Bane Fakih circle back and forth in time and depict a resilient city whose inhabitants have weathered a lot.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The inhabitants of rotten-tail buildings repurpose the old and improvise to find a way of surviving an economic storm.
    — Mark Leonard, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of inhabitants
Noun
  • The first visited Kawajima and Kawagoe, where locals are finding the secret sauce for sustainable tourism.
    — Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Be sure to check ticket options carefully — many gardens offer discounts for students, seniors, locals and other categories of visitors.
    — The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of locals

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Cite this Entry

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

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More from Merriam-Webster on natives

Nglish: Translation of natives for Spanish Speakers

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