Iranian

[ ih-rey-nee-uhn, ih-rah-, ahy-rey- ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Iran, its inhabitants, or their language.
2. of or relating to the Iranian languages.

noun

1. a subbranch of the Indo-European family of languages, including especially Persian, Pashto, Avestan, and Kurdish.
2. an inhabitant of Iran; Persian.

Iranian

/ ɪˈreɪnɪən /

noun

1. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Iran
2. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, divided into West Iranian (including Old Persian, Pahlavi, modern Persian, Kurdish, Baluchi, and Tajik) and East Iranian (including Avestan, Sogdian, Pashto, and Ossetic)
3. AlsoPersianFarsi the modern Persian language

adjective

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Iran, its inhabitants, or their language; Persian
2. belonging to or relating to the Iranian branch of Indo-European

Other Words From

• an·ti-I·ra·ni·an adjective noun
• pro-I·ra·ni·an adjective noun
• pseu·do-I·ra·ni·an adjective noun
• trans-I·ra·ni·an adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Iranian¹

First recorded in 1835–45; Iran + -ian

Example Sentences

And even Ratcliffe had to admit, in the report on the battleground-state emails, that the evidence on Iranian involvement was inconclusive.

From Slate

A well-known Iranian human rights activist has killed himself in protest at what he called the dictatorship of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

From BBC

One civilian and four soldiers were killed in the attacks, Iranian authorities said.

From BBC

Former soldier Daniel Khalife has denied asking Iranian agents for help after he escaped from prison.

From BBC

On his third day on the run, Mr Khalife sent a now deleted Telegram message to an Iranian contact, and he later sent another which said simply: "I wait."

From BBC