indigenous

adjective

in·dig·e·nous in-ˈdi-jə-nəs

Synonyms of indigenous next

: produced, growing, living, or occurring natively or naturally in a particular region or environment

indigenous plants

the indigenous culture

Indigenous or less commonly indigenous : of or relating to the earliest known inhabitants of a place and especially of a place that was colonized by a now-dominant group

Indigenous peoples

: innate, inborn

indigenously adverb

indigenousness noun

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.

Choose the Right Synonym for indigenous

native, indigenous, endemic, aboriginal mean belonging to a locality.

native implies birth or origin in a place or region and may suggest compatibility with it.

native tribal customs

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.

indigenous plants

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

Example Sentences

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 Other candidates have been blocked from running, including leftist indigenous leader Thelma Cabrera, and most recently, former frontrunner Carlos Pineda – sparking accusations of political meddling against the country’s electoral court. —

Tara John, CNN, 24 June 2023 Another leading candidate, Zury Ríos, is the daughter of Efraín Ríos Montt, a dictator of Guatemala in the early 1980s who ordered extreme tactics against a guerrilla insurgency and was convicted of genocide in 2013 for trying to exterminate the Ixil, a Mayan people indigenous to Guatemala. —

Jody García, New York Times, 23 June 2023 In 1994, the country saw a peak of about 10,000 cases in 1994, down to zero indigenous cases in 2019. —

Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 22 June 2023 The authors trace these differences in outcomes to longstanding issues that indigenous groups face, like food insecurity and inadequate housing. —

Elaine Chen, STAT, 22 June 2023 The opinion piece said that the U.S. News ranking criteria does not account well enough for disparities in health care conditions experienced by Black, indigenous and other people of color. —

Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2023 The married couple behind the establishment, Léon and Martínez, have used their restaurant as a showcase of indigenous Peruvian ingredients and cooking, becoming global evangelists for their home country’s cuisine. —

Tori Latham, Robb Report, 20 June 2023 During the third course of a recent Ilé dinner, staffers poured pepper soup, a staple of Nigerian cuisine made with indigenous spices like erhe (calabash nutmeg) and alligator pepper (also known as grains of paradise), into individual bowls at the table. —

Chelsee Lowe, Travel + Leisure, 19 June 2023 Márquez named her clinic Papalotl, which means butterfly in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, to represent her culture and honor her indigenous ancestors. —

María Ramos Pacheco, Dallas News, 19 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'indigenous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.