as in citizens
a person who owes allegiance to a government and is protected by it
recommended that foreign nationals living in the region evacuate immediately
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Recent Examples of nationals
After Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government’s emergency decree issued in spring last year, only foreign nationals with Italian parents or grandparents are now allowed to seek citizenship.
—
Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
His death brings the total at the Adelanto facility to four deaths, all involving Mexican nationals.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
The Tritons matched their second-best showing at the nationals, with three of their four fencers earning All-America honors.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
Other countries that have taken nationals not their own include Panama, Cameroon, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ecuador, Ghana, Rwanda and Honduras.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
These arrests prompted a class action lawsuit on behalf of those detained in the Detroit area, which was later expanded to include roughly 1,400 Iraqi nationals nationwide with final deportation orders.
—Candace Lukasik, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026
On average, detention facilities daily now hold nearly 70,000 immigrants, a scale of mass detention not seen since the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans and nationals during World War II.
—Eric Westervelt, NPR, 23 Mar. 2026
Japan’s top government spokesperson said today that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has safely returned home in good health.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 23 Mar. 2026
Qatar’s foreign ministry said three Turkish nationals were on the aircraft.
—James Legge, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026
Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
His death brings the total at the Adelanto facility to four deaths, all involving Mexican nationals.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
The Tritons matched their second-best showing at the nationals, with three of their four fencers earning All-America honors.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
Other countries that have taken nationals not their own include Panama, Cameroon, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ecuador, Ghana, Rwanda and Honduras.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
These arrests prompted a class action lawsuit on behalf of those detained in the Detroit area, which was later expanded to include roughly 1,400 Iraqi nationals nationwide with final deportation orders.
—Candace Lukasik, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026
On average, detention facilities daily now hold nearly 70,000 immigrants, a scale of mass detention not seen since the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans and nationals during World War II.
—Eric Westervelt, NPR, 23 Mar. 2026
Japan’s top government spokesperson said today that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has safely returned home in good health.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 23 Mar. 2026
Qatar’s foreign ministry said three Turkish nationals were on the aircraft.
—James Legge, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nationals
citizens
Noun
-
Since the ballot seizure, local election officials in Riverside County have debunked the allegations of irregularities by saying that the citizens' group's numbers were based on raw data that could have included unsigned ballots.—
Laurie Perez,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Congress’s February efforts to resolve the shutdown were complicated by the lawless ICE campaign in Minneapolis, where federal agents killed two American citizens during a brutal crackdown on protests.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nationals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nationals. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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