What does "citizen" mean?
A resident of a city or town, especially one with legally recognized rights or duties.
Citizen
/ˈsɪtɪzən/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A resident of a city or town, especially one with legally recognized rights or duties.
- Grammar: citizen is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: belonger, belongers, burgess, burgess.
- Useful contrasts: illegal, nationless, non romanian.
- Usage evidence: A democrat is a free citizen who yields to the will of the majority.
How to use "citizen"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "citizen" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "citizen" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "citizen" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "citizen" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "citizen" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "belonger" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "citizen", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A resident of a city or town, especially one with legally recognized rights or duties.
"[T]hat large body of the working men who were not counted as citizens and had not so much as a vote to serve as an anodyne to their stomachs were likely to get impatient."
- 2 A personal Title denoting citizenship, implicitly of the nation in which it is spoken
- 3 a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community wordnet
- 4 A legally recognized member of a state, with associated rights and obligations; a person considered in terms of this role.
"I am a Roman citizen."
- 5 A pupil of City of London School
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 An inhabitant or occupant: a member of any place.
"Diogenes reckoned himself a citizen of the world."
- 7 A resident of the heavenly city or (later) of the kingdom of God: a Christian; a good Christian.
- 8 A civilian, as opposed to a police officer, soldier, or member of some other specialized (usually state) group.
- 9 An ordinary person, as opposed to nobles and landed gentry on one side and peasants, craftsmen, and laborers on the other. obsolete
"[W]ould Mr. Delvile, who hardly ever spoke but to the high-born, without seeming to think his dignity somewhat injured, deign to receive for a daughter in law the child of a citizen and tradesman?"
- 10 A term of address among supporters of the French Revolution in France or elsewhere; (later, dated) a term of address among socialists and communists. capitalized, historical, usually
"Citizen, I desire nothing more than to get to Paris, though I could dispense with the escort."
- 11 A notional inhabitant of a software system; an object or a software application. figuratively
"The HIG delivers Apple's design commandments, the company's definition of what it means to be a good iPhone citizen."
Antonyms
Example
"A democrat is a free citizen who yields to the will of the majority."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "citizen"?
Common synonyms include: belonger, belongers, burgess, burgess, burgher, burgher.
How do you use "citizen" in a sentence?
A democrat is a free citizen who yields to the will of the majority.
How do you pronounce "citizen"?
Pronounced /ˈsɪtɪzən/.
Etymology
From Middle English citeseyn, citezein, borrowed from Anglo-Norman citesain (“burgher; city-dweller”), citezein, etc., probably a variant of cithein under influence of deinzein (“denizen”), from Anglo-Norman and Old French citeain, etc. and citaien, citeien, etc. ("burgher"; modern French citoyen), from cité ("settlement; cathedral city, city"; modern French cité) + -ain or -ien (“-an, -ian”). See city and hewe.