denizen
Americannoun
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an inhabitant; resident.
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a person who regularly frequents a place; habitué.
the denizens of a local bar.
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anything adapted to a new place, condition, etc., such as an animal or plant not indigenous to a place but successfully naturalized.
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British Law. an alien admitted to residence and to certain rights of citizenship in a country: this legal designation has been obsolete since the first half of the 20th century.
verb (used with object)
noun
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an inhabitant; occupant; resident
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an individual permanently resident in a foreign country where he enjoys certain rights of citizenship
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a plant or animal established in a place to which it is not native
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a naturalized foreign word
verb
Other Word Forms
- denization noun
- denizenation noun
- denizenship noun
- undenizened adjective
Etymology
Origin of denizen
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English denesyn, denisein, from Anglo-French denzein, denszein “(the) one within,” from deinz, dens, denz “inside, on the inside” (from Old French dedens, dedenz; dedans ) + -ein, adjective suffix (from Latin -āneus; -an, -eous ( def. ) )
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.
Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, a former Wall Street denizen, was a force behind the agreement.
From Barron's • Mar. 1, 2026
This denizen of the cloud forests shares pedigree with a fabled deity: Quetzalcoatl, the “Feathered Serpent.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025
I'm a lifelong denizen of several campuses, and I never felt comfortable hearing how ready these folks seemed with a diagnosis of life at American universities.
From Salon • Oct. 8, 2024
In the new Yorgos Lanthimos film “Kinds of Kindness,” a character played by Emma Stone recounts a dream in which she was the denizen of a bizarre world.
From New York Times • May 20, 2024
He is a sophisticate, a weekend denizen of New York’s theater district, a clotheshorse.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
