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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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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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 Fully unveiled on Friday in New Delhi, the 12-month spread was photographed by Sølve Sundsbø, who had shot last year’s edition, as well as by India natives Raghu Rai and Avani Rai. — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2026 Catoir warns against assuming that digital natives will naturally be equipped to work with AI. — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026 The Fall Classic features several Kansas City natives — including Grain Valley native Jacob Misiorowski. — Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026 Cohen, Beaubaire, Kunka and Pink are all Windy City natives who experienced this exhilarating run firsthand. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026 Columbus, for all his accomplishments in exploration, also had a brutal history of killing, raping, and enslaving natives, and forcing cultural assimilation and Christianity during his conquest of the Americas. — Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 12 Oct. 2026 Go with natives When choosing plants, first consider natives. — Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2026 Many of them are Philadelphia natives, too, and expressed the spirit of generosity that exists in the city. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026 These are not tools simply meant for AI experts or even digital natives. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for natives
  1. residents
  2. inhabitants
  3. locals
Noun
  • And so far, things seem to be operating smoothly — something local residents have grown to expect, given the high caliber of local elections officials and the careful oversight of political parties.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Cook County commissioners are looking to take a digital leap to help protect residents’ data from the grasp of immigration enforcement agents.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of residents
Noun
  • Rugged island Flores, located in the southeast of the Indonesian archipelago, is one of a handful of islands in the world’s most populous Muslim nation with a Christian majority, with 80% of its two million inhabitants identifying as Roman Catholic.
    — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Montaukett, the original inhabitants of the Hamptons, were stripped of their land and tribal rights a century ago.
    — Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of inhabitants
Noun
  • Loved by locals, Las Vegas’ Arts District is at a crossroads.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Thousands of sheep and goats thronged the streets of the Spanish capital on Sunday, drawing large crowds of tourists and locals alike to watch an annual festival recreating the pastoral practice of moving livestock to new grazing grounds.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of locals

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natives
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Cite this Entry

“Natives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/natives. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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