ethnic

ethnic — adjective

1. describing a person or community whose identity is tied to a specific set of cus

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing a person or community whose identity is tied to a specific set of customs, a shared language, or a common ancestry — the features that distinguish one cultural group from others within a larger society.

Example

The school celebrates ethnic diversity through a festival of food and music.

collocation: ethnic diversity

Naoko's family keeps their ethnic traditions alive by celebrating festivals from their homeland.

collocation: ethnic traditions

Common collocations
  • ethnic group
  • ethnic minority
  • ethnic background
  • ethnic diversity
  • ethnic identity
  • ethnic origin
Synonyms
  • cultural

    broader in meaning — covers all learned behaviour, not just group identity markers

  • ancestral

    focuses on family lineage going back generations, not shared customs

  • indigenous

    specifically refers to the original inhabitants of a region, not all cultural groups

Usage Note

Always used before a noun. Unlike 'racial', which emphasizes physical or genetic traits, 'ethnic' focuses on learned cultural practices such as language, religion, and customs.

Common Mistakes

The ethnic group is' (as if 'ethnic' can stand alone after a verb).
The ethnic group is large.
'ethnic' is almost always attributive; it rarely follows a linking verb.
She is ethnic.
She belongs to an ethnic group.
describing a person as 'ethnic' without a noun sounds vague and can be offensive.

2. used to describe food, clothing, art, or music that comes from a non-Western cul

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

used to describe food, clothing, art, or music that comes from a non-Western culture and is seen as appealing or distinctive because it differs from what is usual in Europe or North America.

Example

The restaurant serves ethnic dishes from Southeast Asia with spices rarely used in local cooking.

collocation: ethnic dishes

Tamar bought a colorful ethnic scarf from a market stall during her trip to Morocco.

Common collocations
  • ethnic food
  • ethnic clothing
  • ethnic music
  • ethnic art
  • ethnic decor
  • ethnic jewelry
Synonyms
  • exotic

    stronger emphasis on being unusual or striking; can sound more dismissive

  • traditional

    neutral term that does not carry the West-vs-rest contrast

  • folk

    focuses on ordinary people's art or customs, not necessarily non-Western

Usage Note

Some speakers consider this sense reductive or stereotypical because it treats non-Western cultures as a single exotic category. Using more specific terms — 'Thai street food', 'Andean textiles', 'Japanese pottery' — is often preferable in formal writing.

Common Mistakes

The shop sells ethnic food from Italy.
The shop sells Italian food.
'ethnic' generally contrasts with Western norms; Italian cuisine is part of the Western tradition in this context.

ethnic — noun

Word family

  • ethnicity
    nounB2
  • ethnically
    adverbB2
  • multi-ethnic
    adjectiveC1
  • interethnic
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words touch on group identity, but each stresses a different dimension. 'Ethnic' (B1) centres on shared customs, language, and traditions — it is the most practical, everyday term for describing the cultural identity of a community within a larger society. 'Cultural' (A2) is the broadest of the group, covering any learned behaviour, values, art, or beliefs; you can talk about 'workplace culture' or 'pop culture', which have nothing to do with ethnicity. 'Racial' (B2) refers specifically to physical or genetic characteristics such as skin colour or bone structure and is primarily used in discussions of discrimination or biology. 'Ancestral' (B2) looks backward through family lineage, emphasising heritage passed down across generations rather than current community bonds. 'Indigenous' (B2) is the narrowest and refers only to the original inhabitants of a colonised region. A concrete example: 'Naoko's family celebrates both her ethnic identity (Japanese language and New Year traditions) and her ancestral heritage (the specific prefecture her great-grandparents came from), but the term racial would be irrelevant since Japanese people share many physical traits across regions.'

culturalracial ↗ancestralindigenous ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • ethnically

Phrases

  • ethnic cleansing
  • ethnic group
  • ethnic minority
  • multi-ethnic society

Prepositions

  • of ... ethnic origin
  • from an ethnic background
  • along ethnic lines

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'ethnic' traces back to the Greek adjective 'ethnikos', meaning 'national' or 'of a people', which itself comes from the noun 'ethnos' — a tribe, nation, or group of people living together. Greek 'ethnikos' passed into Latin as 'ethnicus', where it took on the sense of 'heathen' or 'pagan' (anyone not Jewish or Christian). English borrowed it through French in the 15th century with this religious meaning. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, the religious sense faded, and 'ethnic' shifted back toward its original Greek meaning of shared cultural and national identity — the sense it carries today in modern English.