Definition of INDIGENOUS
- ️Mon Mar 17 2025
1
a
: produced, growing, living, or occurring natively or naturally in a particular region or environment
b
Indigenous
or less commonly indigenous
: of, relating to, or descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a place and especially of a place that was colonized
Indigenous peoples/cultures
Did you know?
Indigenous derives from the Latin noun indigena (meaning "native"), which was formed by combining Old Latin indu (meaning "in" or "within") with the verb gignere (meaning "to beget"). Another term that comes from the indigena root is indigene, a word for a plant or animal that lives, grows, or originates in a certain area. Indigene is the older of the two; it has been used in English since the late 16th century, whereas the earliest documented use of indigenous occurred nearly 50 years later. Indigenous is used in scientific contexts to describe organisms and the habitats to which they belong, and in expressly non-scientific contexts, as in "emotions indigenous to the human spirit." Most often, however, it's used to describe the native inhabitants of a place.
Synonyms
Choose the Right Synonym for indigenous
indigenous applies to that which is not only native but which, as far as can be determined, has never been introduced or brought from elsewhere.
endemic implies being peculiar to a region.
a disease endemic in Africa
aboriginal implies having no known others preceding in occupancy of a particular region.
the aboriginal peoples of Australia
Examples of indigenous in a Sentence
Viking invaders quickly subdued the indigenous population, known as the Picts.
—
Jared M. Diamond, Collapse, 2005
Unlike France, Italy relies on dozens of indigenous regional grape varieties for its prodigious range of wines.
—Gerald Asher, Gourmet, September 2002
Though Gilded Age architecture was not indigenous to America, at least it was borrowed from belle epoque Europe, from which much of America's late-nineteenth-century culture evolved.
—Robert D. Kaplan, An Empire Wilderness, 1988
There are several indigenous groups that still live in the area. the culture of the indigenous people of that country
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
They were arrested in September 2023, as Azerbaijan was carrying out the mass expulsion of over 100,000 ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, the disputed enclave of Azerbaijan that until 2023 was inhabited and governed by its indigenous ethnic Armenian majority.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
For Trudeau’s period of nearly a decade in office, two accomplishments seem indelible: his efforts on indigenous reconciliation and his commitment to end child poverty.
—Paula Newton, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
Lee, 42, was working with indigenous people in Ifugao, a province in the Northern region of Luzon, the Philippines main island, when he was repeatedly harassed and tailed by military troops.
—Kyle Martin, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2025
In 2024, for example, while much was made of indigenous actor Lily Gladstone’s Best Actress nomination, the vast majority of Oscar nominees, 80 percent, were white.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indigenous
Word History
Browse Nearby Words
Cite this Entry
“Indigenous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indigenous. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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Last Updated: 17 Mar 2025 - Updated example sentences
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