US /ˈneɪtəv/ UK /ˈneɪtɪv/
adj noun Freq #3944

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    Connected with the place where you were born.

    She returned to her native country after twenty years abroad.

  2. 2
    adj

    Living or growing naturally in a particular place, not brought in from elsewhere.

    The sugar maple is native to North America.

  3. 3
    noun

    A person who was born in a particular place or country.

    He is a native of Brazil.

  4. 4
    adj

    Belonging to the original people who lived in a region.

    The museum displays the art of the native peoples of the region.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · connected with the place... inborn
2 adj · living or growing naturally... aboriginal
4 adj · belonging to the original... aboriginal
Opposites
Word family
Forms natives
Derived forms ai-nativecloud-nativenativarnative-bornnative-likenative-speakernative-speakerismnative-speakingnativehennativelikenativelynativeness
Related forms ancientfirstlocalnativisationnativitynativizationnaturalprimitive

Common collocations

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English natif, from Old French natif, from Latin nātīvus, from nātus (“birth”). Doublet of naive and neif. Displaced native Middle English thedisch, equivalent to (puristic) theed + -ish. Compare also inborn.

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Topics

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