as in ethnic
of, relating to, or reflecting the traits exhibited by a group of people with a common ancestry and culture
a tribal solidarity that transcends all other loyalties or bonds
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tribal
The Dalai Lama’s nonsectarian vision and unifying presence has helped Tibetans in exile avoid the fate of many diaspora communities that fall apart from internal strife, tribal loyalties, and turf wars.
—
Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2025
Tribes could also be interested in reintroducing pumas to their tribal lands.
—Noël Fletcher, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
For Bowyer, then a 46-year-old father of five who could be mistaken for a retired slugger — confident gait, hulking arms mosaicked in tribal tattoos — attending was a no-brainer.
—David Amsden, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025
Elections have become so toxic and tribal that few sane people in the middle are willing to run for office, even for city councils and school boards that were once somewhat insulated from the crazy.
—Joanna Allhands, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tribal
Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2025
Tribes could also be interested in reintroducing pumas to their tribal lands.
—Noël Fletcher, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
For Bowyer, then a 46-year-old father of five who could be mistaken for a retired slugger — confident gait, hulking arms mosaicked in tribal tattoos — attending was a no-brainer.
—David Amsden, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025
Elections have become so toxic and tribal that few sane people in the middle are willing to run for office, even for city councils and school boards that were once somewhat insulated from the crazy.
—Joanna Allhands, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tribal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tribal
Adjective
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With a genocide in Congo and war, famine and ethnic cleasing in Sudan, to cite just two of the conflicts currently happening in Africa, that dream seems impossible.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
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Cellucci agreed and brought to the Weld campaign an ethnic balance as well as his knowledge of the workings of the Legislature, the State House and state government.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Opened in 1946, the diner was the first in the city to hire African Americans in front-of-house roles during a time when racial tensions were heightened, and its inclusive legacy has lived on.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
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Troost Avenue had long served as a dividing line of racial segregation in Kansas City, a physical reminder of historic redlining from the Jim Crow era.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Defined by the United Nations as acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, its use by a sitting member of Congress—particularly a Republican—marks a rare challenge to the dominant U.S. narrative on the war in Gaza.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 July 2025
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The United Nations broadly defines genocide as seriously harming or killing members of a group with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Tribal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tribal. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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