oriental
Usually Oriental .
of, relating to, or characteristic of the Orient or the East, typically East Asia; Eastern: The living room had a gorgeous Oriental rug.In the late 1950s, the university began offering degrees in Oriental philosophy.
Older Use: Often Disparaging and Offensive. (of a person or group of people) being from the East, typically East Asia; Asian.: See Usage note at Asian.
of the orient, or the eastern region of the world or heavens: oriental countries;stars in the oriental sky.
Oriental, Zoogeography. belonging to a geographical division comprising southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago as far as and including the Philippines, Borneo, and Java: This genera has twelve Oriental species, and two Australian ones.
Also Oriental .Jewelry.
designating various gems that are varieties of corundum: oriental aquamarine; oriental ruby.
fine or precious; orient: oriental agate; oriental garnet.
designating certain natural saltwater pearls found especially in Asia.
Usually Oriental .Older Use: Usually Disparaging and Offensive. a native or inhabitant of the Orient, or East.
Origin of oriental
1usage note For oriental
Other words from oriental
- o·ri·en·tal·ly, adverb
- an·ti-O·ri·en·tal, adjective, noun
- half-o·ri·en·tal, adjective
- non·o·ri·en·tal, adjective, noun
- pseu·do·o·ri·en·tal, adjective
- qua·si-o·ri·en·tal, adjective
- sem·i·o·ri·en·tal, adjective
- un·o·ri·en·tal, adjective
Words that may be confused with oriental
Words Nearby oriental
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use oriental in a sentence
A choice Johnson says he made channeling a Harpo Marx type character, and not a “mysterious oriental.”
‘Star Wars’ Director Rian Johnson May Bring Balance to the Force | Rich Goldstein | June 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe mattresses are taken off the beds, making four low oriental divans.
“I hear Gore’s voice and I want so much to be with him” | Anaïs Nin | October 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThey screamed oriental abuse at the Korean perpetrator of the crime, and the Korean perpetrator screamed back.
One Direction, Harry Styles and the Princess Diana Connection | Tom Sykes | September 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTMalcolm lives in New York, in an apartment of wood floors and oriental carpets, overlooking Gramercy Park.
Old Anxieties Get a New Life: Artist Janet Malcolm Digs Up Ancient Case Files From a Mystery Psychiatrist | Casey Schwartz | December 31, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTOn Nov. 8, The Norman Mailer Center will fete writers, both famous and not, at a gala at the Mandarin oriental Hotel in New York.
Monotheism is strictly inconsistent with the supremacy of “merits” which is the very soul of oriental religion.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel ConwayHe was professor of oriental languages; his dissertations on various subjects of criticism and antiquity were highly esteemed.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellHe was distinguished as an oriental scholar, and died while delivering an oration at the academy of Caen.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellWhether this aptitude was combined with the sinuous cunning that is essentially oriental Nigel did not know.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensJoseph White, an eminent English divine, and oriental scholar, died.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
British Dictionary definitions for oriental (1 of 2)
/ (ˌɔːrɪˈɛntəl) /
another word for eastern Compare occidental
British Dictionary definitions for Oriental (2 of 2)
/ (ˌɔːrɪˈɛntəl) /
(sometimes not capital) of or relating to the Orient
of or denoting a zoogeographical region consisting of southeastern Asia from India to Borneo, Java, and the Philippines
a breed of slender muscular cat with large ears, long legs, and a long tail
(sometimes not capital) an inhabitant, esp a native, of the Orient
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
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