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Synonyms

nation

1 American  
[ney-shuhn] / ˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own.

    The president spoke to the nation about the new tax.

  2. the territory or country itself.

    the nations of Central America.

    Synonyms:
    realm, kingdom, commonwealth, state
  3. a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.

  4. an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.


Nation 2 American  
[ney-shuhn] / ˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. Carry or Carrie (Amelia Moore), 1846–1911, U.S. temperance leader.


nation British  
/ ˈneɪʃən /

noun

  1. an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state

    the Australian nation

  2. a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc

    the French-Canadian nation

    1. a federation of tribes, esp American Indians

    2. the territory occupied by such a federation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See race 2.

Other Word Forms

  • internation adjective
  • minination noun
  • nationhood noun
  • nationless adjective
  • supernation noun

Etymology

Origin of nation

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin nātiōn- (stem of nātiō ) “birth, tribe,” equivalent to nāt(us) (past participle of nāscī “to be born”) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And from Europe to Asia, major manufacturing nations have launched programs that have helped their domestic producers remain competitive sellers in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

It signalled greater access to "the largest trading nation on Earth" for North Korea, Lim told AFP, while it was also important for China's "periphery diplomacy".

From Barron's

That ‘after the shock’ model assumes that flows through the Strait will start recovering by Mar. 21 and oil inventories will be bolstered by releases of nations’ emergency reserves.

From MarketWatch

As China’s leader, Xi has pledged to forge what he calls “a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” across its 1.4 billion people.

From The Wall Street Journal

New York City is the nation’s largest city by population, with an estimated 8.48 million residents as of July 2024, and by the size of its economy, Moody’s said.

From Barron's