foreigner

foreigner — noun

1. Someone living in or visiting a country where they were not born and do not hold

1.nounA2
Definition

Someone living in or visiting a country where they were not born and do not hold citizenship.

Example

Adina felt nervous about being the only foreigner in the office.

feel like a foreigner — emotional experience of being the outsider

The school offers free Chinese classes to foreigners living in the city.

foreigners living in [place] — residence pattern

Common collocations
  • foreigner registration
  • foreigner visa
  • hostile to foreigners
  • welcome foreigners
  • attitude toward foreigners
Synonyms
  • alien

    formal, legal term used in government and immigration documents

  • non-citizen

    neutral, legal/governmental register

  • expatriate

    someone living abroad by choice, often for work; implies longer stay and usually a professional context

  • immigrant

    someone who has moved permanently to a new country to settle

Antonyms
  • citizen

    a legal member of a country with full rights

  • native

    someone born in the place they live — broader than legal citizenship

Grammar Patterns

foreigner + verb

feel like a foreigner

foreigner + relative clause

Usage Note

Can carry a slightly distancing tone depending on context. In formal or welcoming writing, terms like 'international visitor', 'expatriate', or 'non-citizen' are sometimes preferred over 'foreigner'.

Common Mistakes

Many foreigners are staying at that hotel.
Many international guests are staying at that hotel.
'Foreigner' can sound blunt or unfriendly in casual settings; 'guest' or 'visitor' sounds more natural and welcoming.
She is a foreigner from Canada.
She is from Canada.
When the country is named, 'foreigner' is redundant and sounds odd.

2. A person who feels excluded from a group, community, or social setting, or is tr

2.nounB2
Definition

A person who feels excluded from a group, community, or social setting, or is treated as if they do not belong there — without any literal foreign country being involved.

Example

At the family reunion, Élise felt like a foreigner among her talkative cousins.

feel like a foreigner — metaphorical belonging

Rafael was a complete foreigner in the finance world, knowing nothing about stocks.

complete foreigner + in [domain] — intensifier pattern

Common collocations
  • feel like a foreigner
  • complete foreigner
  • foreigner to [something]
Synonyms
  • outsider

    more neutral and common in everyday use

  • stranger

    emphasizes not being known or recognized by others

  • newcomer

    temporary state — implies they will eventually belong

Antonyms
  • insider

    someone accepted and familiar within a group

  • member

    someone belonging to the group by status or participation

  • local

    a person from that specific place

Grammar Patterns

feel like a foreigner

be a foreigner to [domain]

Usage Note

Always used in a metaphorical or extended sense — no literal foreign country is involved, only the feeling of not fitting in. Frequently appears in the fixed expression 'feel like a foreigner'.

Common Mistakes

He was a foreigner at the party because he didn't know anyone.
He felt like a foreigner at the party because he didn't know anyone.
This sense is about the feeling of being an outsider, not actual nationality. Add 'feel like' when no foreign country is involved.

Word family

  • foreign
    adjectiveA2
  • foreignness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to someone in a country that is not their own, but they differ in register, duration, and connotation. 'Foreigner' is the most general and everyday term, though it can sound distancing — it simply means someone from another country without saying anything about why they are there. 'Alien' is a formal legal term used in immigration and government documents (e.g. 'resident alien'); outside of legal contexts it can carry a science-fiction or dehumanizing overtone, so it is rarely used in casual conversation. 'Expatriate' (often shortened to 'expat') implies a person living abroad by choice, usually for professional reasons and often with a comfortable lifestyle — it carries a neutral-to-positive tone. 'Immigrant' specifically describes someone who has moved to a new country intending to settle permanently, and it often carries social and political weight that the other terms lack. To choose: use 'foreigner' when you need a simple, neutral description; use 'expatriate' for a professional living abroad temporarily; use 'immigrant' for someone building a new life permanently; reserve 'alien' for official forms.

foreigner ↗alien ↗expatriateimmigrant ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'foris' (outside, outdoors), which produced Late Latin 'foranus' (external) and then Old French 'forain' (strange, from outside). English borrowed the word as 'forein' in the 13th century, and the '-er' suffix (meaning 'person who does or is something') was added later to form 'foreigner'. The modern spelling with 'g' was influenced by 'reign' and 'sovereign' during the 16th–17th centuries.