interracial

interracial — adjective

1. describing a relationship, friendship, marriage, or any social connection betwee

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a relationship, friendship, marriage, or any social connection between people who belong to different racial groups

Example

Interracial couples sometimes have to deal with unwanted attention in public places.

collocation: interracial couples

Salma and Vikram say their interracial marriage helped them understand each other's traditions better.

Common collocations
  • interracial marriage
  • interracial couple
  • interracial relationship
  • interracial adoption
  • interracial dating
  • interracial friendship
  • interracial family
Synonyms
  • mixed-race

    More commonly used to describe individuals or families rather than abstract connections; slightly less formal

  • cross-cultural

    Broader meaning that emphasises cultural rather than racial differences

  • multiracial

    Refers to a group or society involving many races, not just two

Antonyms
  • same-race

    Describes a relationship within the same racial group; less common as a single-word adjective

Usage Note

Frequently used with nouns describing personal or family relationships. Unlike biracial (which describes one individual's mixed heritage), interracial always describes a connection between two or more people.

Common Mistakes

She is interracial.' (when talking about a person's own background)
She is biracial.
interracial describes a relationship between people, not one person's heritage.
They are in a interracial relationship.
They are in an interracial relationship.
the article an is used because interracial starts with a vowel sound.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words relate to racial diversity, but they differ in focus. Interracial always describes a connection between people of different races — a relationship, marriage, or friendship. Mixed-race is more often used about individuals or families (a mixed-race child, a mixed-race family) and sounds slightly less formal. Multiracial describes societies, groups, or populations involving many races (a multiracial neighbourhood, a multiracial team). Biracial refers specifically to a person whose parents are of two different races. Cross-cultural is broader, emphasising cultural tradition rather than racial background. For example: 'The conference brought together people from multiracial backgrounds.' 'Their interracial marriage was celebrated by both families.' 'Her biracial identity shaped the stories she wrote.'

mixed-racemultiracialbiracialcross-cultural ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word interracial was formed in English in the late 19th century by combining the Latin prefix inter- (meaning 'between' or 'among') with the adjective racial, which itself comes from the noun race. The word race entered English from French in the 1500s and can be traced further back to the Italian word razza.