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

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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 An impressive four-game winning streak followed a lopsided loss at Wazzu that had some natives not just restless but greasing skids and sharpening pitchforks. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2025 His parents were both Arkansas natives born in Searcy County in 1913. Arkansas Online, 11 Oct. 2025 Across southwest Georgia, there is a heavy Auburn fan presence, enough to draw in some Georgia natives. Seth Emerson, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025 When the south end natives randomly reconnected about five years ago at the radio station where Steiger worked, Tingle, who has been married twice and lived more than half a century as a straight man, was just coming to terms with being gay. Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 9 Oct. 2025 While there are issues surrounding the advanced tech sweeping entry-level roles, the young digital natives are better prepared than most to adapt skill-wise. Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025 However, Cuban natives are not eligible to apply for the 2026 round of the visa lottery, because more than 50,000 Cubans immigrated to the United States in the last five years, the department said. Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025 Last October, Luke Combs and Eric Church, both North Carolina natives, staged a massive benefit show at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte. Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2025 The clip went viral, and not just because of the Barranquilla natives’ sultry moves. Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for natives
Noun
  • These suburban residents hope that vigilance will prevent the process of neighbourhood change from beginning.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 18 Oct. 2025
  • About two weeks into the shutdown, reporters from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Appleton Post-Crescent and Green Bay Press-Gazette visited downtown areas to ask residents and visitors how the shutdown is impacting them — and who, if anyone, is to blame.
    Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The team aimed to study the past inhabitants’ diet and compare it with the diet of modern birds today.
    Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Soon after, Kravitz began hosting an annual dental-care clinic, completely free of charge for the island’s inhabitants.
    Jazmine Hughes, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Lost Dutchman Mine has captured the imagination of treasure hunters, historians and locals alike, and people continue to search for it to this day.
    Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 17 Oct. 2025
  • And at Joe’s Pizza, the counter-service classic continues to represent what many locals consider a textbook New York slice—thin, quick and best eaten folded.
    Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Natives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/natives. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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