Nonnative species have invaded Australia and threaten to overrun indigenous plants and animals.
Source: tatoeba (10532176)
Nonnative
Synonyms for "nonnative" (63 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (13)
Adjective(9 words)
foreign-bornacquired languageadventitiousalien landalien speciesborrowed termsborrowed wordethnic outsiderexotic
Strong matches (19)
Adjective(14 words)
Noun(5 words)
Related words (31)
Adjective(14 words)
immigrantimported termintroducedinvasive species invasionnon canariannon dutch personnon greeknon-cretannon-italiannonenglish spellingnonindigenousnonnative pronunciationnot nativeoutlandish
Verb(2 words)
importedstudy a foreign tongue
Noun(12 words)
invasive speciesmore borrowed wordmore foreignmore nonnativemost foreignmost foreign-languagemost non-romaniannon romannon-greek loanwordnon-greek residentperegrinesecond language student
Adverb(1 words)
more alien
Determiner(2 words)
more foreign-language classroommost foreign-language curriculum
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: foreign-born, acquired language, adventitious, alien, alien beings.
- Sentence evidence is available for nonnative, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "nonnative".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "nonnative"
Keep "nonnative" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "nonnative" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "nonnative", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "nonnative" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
8 entriesMore specific
9 entriesCollocations
11 entriesnonnative Englishnonnative animalnonnative grammarnonnative habitatnonnative learnernonnative plantnonnative pronunciationnonnative speakernonnative speciesnonnative studentnonnative vocabulary
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
3 entriesAntonyms
1 entriessimilar
2 entriesSample sentences
4 total sentences available.
In addition to new diseases, Quammen touches on many of the examples often included in standard disease ecology or epidemiology courses—for example, myxomatosis in nonnative rabbits of Australia, and mutation rates in RNA versus DNA viruses.
Source: wiktionary
I aped the accent of a nonnative speaker.
Source: wiktionary
If you're a Chicagoan, you will find something in each that you didn't know about; nonnatives will find something in each they'll wish they'd read before making their last trip.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "nonnative"?
Closest matches include foreign-born, acquired language, adventitious, alien, alien beings.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "nonnative"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.