citizenship

citizenship — noun

1. the official legal standing of being a full member of one specific nation, givin

1.nounB1
Definition

the official legal standing of being a full member of one specific nation, giving you the permanent right to live, work, vote, and receive government protection there

Example

Theo applied for Canadian citizenship after living in Toronto for five years.

verb + citizenship: apply for / grant / receive

Dual citizenship allows Priya to hold passports from both India and the United Kingdom.

adjective + citizenship: dual / full / multiple

Common collocations
  • apply for citizenship
  • grant citizenship
  • hold citizenship
  • acquire citizenship
  • revoke citizenship
  • dual citizenship
  • full citizenship
Synonyms
  • nationality

    focuses on ethnic or national identity rather than legal status; a person can have a nationality without formal citizenship documents

  • naturalization

    refers specifically to the process of obtaining citizenship, not the status itself

  • citizen status

    a more formal, bureaucratic term with the same meaning

  • legal membership

    broader term that can apply to other organizations, not just countries

Antonyms
  • statelessness

    the condition of not being a legal citizen of any country

Grammar Patterns

adjective + citizenship

verb + citizenship

Usage Note

Often used with verbs like 'apply for', 'grant', 'acquire', 'hold', and 'revoke'. The adjective 'dual' is the most common modifier in this sense. This sense contrasts with sense 2, which focuses on behavior rather than legal status.

Common Mistakes

I got my citizen last year.
I got my citizenship last year.
'citizen' is the person; 'citizenship' is the status.
She has a citizenship of Japan.
She has Japanese citizenship.
Use the nationality adjective, not 'a/an' + 'of'.

2. the way a person behaves as a responsible member of a community, especially by f

2.nounB2
Definition

the way a person behaves as a responsible member of a community, especially by following rules, helping others, and taking part in local activities that improve the lives of people around them

Example

The school program teaches students about good citizenship through volunteer work at local shelters.

collocation: good citizenship / active citizenship

Rohan showed active citizenship by organizing a recycling project that involved the whole neighborhood.

Common collocations
  • good citizenship
  • active citizenship
  • responsible citizenship
  • outstanding citizenship
  • teach citizenship
  • promote citizenship
  • sense of citizenship
Synonyms
  • civic duty

    emphasizes what a citizen ought to do, especially obligations like voting and jury service

  • community involvement

    broader term that includes volunteer work and local participation, not necessarily tied to formal citizenship

  • social responsibility

    focuses on the ethical obligation to contribute positively to society as a whole

  • public spirit

    a more old-fashioned term describing a willingness to serve the community

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

adjective + citizenship

noun + of + citizenship (sense of citizenship)

Usage Note

Always used with a qualifying adjective (good, active, responsible, outstanding) or in the phrase 'sense of citizenship'. Unlike sense 1, this sense has no legal dimension — it describes behavior and attitude toward the community.

Common Mistakes

Citizenship is important in a democracy.' (ambiguous — which sense?)
Good citizenship is important in a democracy.
For sense 2, always pair with an adjective like 'good' or 'active' to avoid confusion with legal status.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four terms are often confused with 'citizenship' in its legal sense. 'Nationality' is the closest — it refers to a person's ethnic or national identity and is often used interchangeably with citizenship in everyday speech, but strictly speaking a person can have a nationality without formal citizenship documents. 'Naturalization' is narrower: it describes the legal process by which a foreign resident becomes a citizen, not the status itself. 'Residency' is the right to live in a country — a resident can work and pay taxes but cannot vote or hold a passport from that country. 'Legal membership' is the broadest term and can apply to clubs, organizations, or unions; when used for a country, it means the same as citizenship but sounds more bureaucratic. For example: 'Diego has Mexican nationality but needs to complete the naturalization process to gain US citizenship'; 'A green card gives you permanent residency in the United States, but full citizenship requires an additional application.'

nationality ↗naturalizationresidency ↗legal membership

Common collocations

Nouns

  • rights of citizenship
  • application for citizenship
  • proof of citizenship
  • certificate of citizenship
  • loss of citizenship

Adverbs

Phrases

  • grant citizenship to
  • bestow citizenship on
  • confer citizenship upon
  • citizenship by birth
  • citizenship by naturalization

Prepositions

  • citizenship of
  • citizenship in
  • path to citizenship
  • right to citizenship

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchAnglo-NormanEnglish

The word 'citizenship' comes from 'citizen' (a person who lives in a city or belongs to a country) combined with the suffix '-ship' (which turns a noun into a broader state or condition). 'Citizen' entered English in the 1300s from Anglo-Norman 'citezein', which came from Old French 'citeain' (townsperson), based on Latin 'civitas' (city, community, state). The concept originally referred to membership in a city, and over centuries expanded to mean formal membership in a nation-state.