as in indigenous
belonging to a particular place by birth or origin
the aboriginal peoples of northern Alaska are known as Inupiats, which in their language literally means "real people"
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Recent Examples of aboriginal
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
27 Dec. 2025
The woman is also described as aboriginal, around 5 foot tall, wearing a black beanie, white T-shirt, and maroon hoodie.
—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
3 Dec. 2025
The Gabba is situated in Brisbane’s suburb of Woolloongabba, an Aboriginal term meaning ‘whirling waters’, and is nowadays a hulking but slightly creaking 42,000-seater concrete and steel coliseum.
—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
3 Dec. 2025
This was in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney, where her mother was an administrator at a primary school that prioritized Aboriginal children.
—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aboriginal
Adjective
Once an aboriginal title is recognized, its holders can collect formal and informal rents from those who seek to develop what is Indigenous land.
—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
27 Dec. 2025
The woman is also described as aboriginal, around 5 foot tall, wearing a black beanie, white T-shirt, and maroon hoodie.
—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
3 Dec. 2025
The Gabba is situated in Brisbane’s suburb of Woolloongabba, an Aboriginal term meaning ‘whirling waters’, and is nowadays a hulking but slightly creaking 42,000-seater concrete and steel coliseum.
—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
3 Dec. 2025
This was in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney, where her mother was an administrator at a primary school that prioritized Aboriginal children.
—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aboriginal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aboriginal
Adjective
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American barbecue has always been a unique mixture of cultures, predominantly Black, indigenous and European influences.
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There’s a perfectly worthy retelling of this story that approaches Los Angeles 1821 like Chinatown, one that delves deeply into the traditions of the people indigenous to the land as well as the early attempts to bring fresh water to this desert.
Noun
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The Guanches were aborigines of the Canary Islands.
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The bill’s sponsors insisted their motives were not racist, although, one of the sponsors, state Sen. Scott Beason, later recorded himself referring to black people as aborigines while wearing a wire for the FBI.
Cite this Entry
“Aboriginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aboriginal. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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