ethnic
ethnical
[adjective]
Synonyms: cultural, folk, indigenous, national, native, racial, traditional

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Related Words: non-Christian, unchristian, national, tribal

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. eth‧nic¹ W3 AC /ˈeθnɪk/ adjective
[Word Family: noun: ethnic; adverb: ethnically; adjective: ethnic]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Late Latin; Origin: ethnicus, from Greek ethnikos, from ethnos 'nation, people']

1. relating to a particular race, nation, or tribe and their customs and traditions:
The school teaches pupils from different ethnic groups.
ethnic Russians in Estonia
ethnic violence/divisions/strife etc (=violence etc between people from different races or cultures)
ethnic background/origin
The students are from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
plans to partition the republic along ethnic lines (=in a way that keeps different ethnic groups apart)

2. ethnic cooking/fashion/design etc cooking, fashion etc from countries that are far away, which seems very different and unusual:
ethnic music
—ethnically /-kli/ adverb:
Surinam is culturally and ethnically diverse.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. ethnic² AC noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: ethnic; adverb: ethnically; adjective: ethnic]
someone who comes from a group of people who are a different race, religion etc or who have a different background from most other people in that country:
In that neighborhood of New York, we were all ethnics.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ethnic

an ethnic group
People of Ukrainian descent are Canada’s fifth largest ethnic group.
an ethnic minority (=a small ethnic group living within a much larger group)
Ethnic minorities have tended to live together in the same areas of the city.
ethnic origin/background (=the race or country that someone originally came from)
Schools are increasingly composed of pupils of different religions and different ethnic origins.
an ethnic Russian/Albanian etc (=someone whose family is Russian etc, but who is living in another country)
Romania’s 1.6 million ethnic Hungarians make up about 7 percent of the country’s population.
an ethnic mix (=a mixture of people from different ethnic groups who live in the same place)
The city has a wonderful ethnic mix.
ethnic diversity (=the fact of including people from many different ethnic groups)
Chicago prides itself on its ethnic diversity.
ethnic violence/conflict (=fighting or trouble between different ethnic groups)
Hundreds were killed and injured in the country’s worst outbreak of ethnic violence.
ethnic divisions (=disagreements between members of different ethnic groups)
Ethnic divisions continue to plague parts of America.
ethnic tension (=a feeling of tension and lack of trust between members of different ethnic groups)
It is feared that the growing ethnic tension could lead to civil war.
an ethnic identity (=the feeling of belonging to one race or national group)
These small tribal communities share a common ethnic identity.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲