Ethnicity
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The common characteristics of a group of people, especially regarding ancestry, culture, language or national experiences. countable, uncountable
"Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture, ethnicity, genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept? […] After all, more and more diseases are reportedly correlated with ethnicity and race."
- 2 an ethnic quality or affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties wordnet
- 3 An ethnic group. countable, uncountable
"As a young Asian American, I was lucky growing up in an inclusive suburb, where although known to be predominantly Caucasian, all blends of cultures and ethnicities were embodied in the school populations. That said, the “K-wave” had not reached the depths of Naperville yet, and I remember K-pop lovers being perceived as outcasts all over the States."
- 4 Race; common ancestry. countable, euphemistic, informal, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The violence of one nation against another, generated by religious and nationalist ideals, led to the creation of a new term to describe the cold desire for total extinction of a group of people, based on criteria of color, ethnicity, or religion."
Etymology
From ethnic + -ity.
Related phrases
More for "ethnicity"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.