nationality

nationality — noun

1. how the law sees which country a person belongs to as a citizen; the official st

1.nounB1
Definition

how the law sees which country a person belongs to as a citizen; the official status that gives you the right to a passport from that country and to live there permanently.

Example

Christopher applied for French nationality after living in Lyon for eight years.

collocation: apply for nationality

Dual nationality lets you hold passports from two countries at the same time.

collocation: dual nationality

Common collocations
  • acquire nationality
  • change nationality
  • hold nationality
  • dual nationality
  • multiple nationality
  • country of nationality
Synonyms
  • citizenship

    more specific to legal rights and duties of a citizen; 'nationality' is often broader and used in official forms

  • legal residence

    refers to permission to live in a country but may not include full citizenship rights such as voting

Grammar Patterns

of + nationality

adjective + nationality

have/acquire + nationality

Usage Note

Distinguish from 'ethnicity': nationality is a legal or official status tied to a country, whereas ethnicity describes a person's cultural, racial, or ancestral background and may cross national borders.

Common Mistakes

I changed my nationality to Canada.
I changed my nationality to Canadian.
Use the adjective form (Canadian, Japanese, Brazilian) after 'nationality is' or after 'change to'.
My nationality is from Taiwan.
My nationality is Taiwanese.
Nationality is a label, not a place of origin.

2. any of the distinct peoples who share a language, history, or culture, especiall

2.nounB2
Definition

any of the distinct peoples who share a language, history, or culture, especially when they make up part of a larger country or have their own political ambitions.

Example

The Uyghurs are a nationality with their own language and cultural traditions.

typical subject: specific ethnic groups

Each nationality in the empire was allowed to teach its own history in schools.

Common collocations
  • minority nationality
  • indigenous nationality
  • smaller nationality
  • different nationalities
Synonyms
  • ethnic group

    more common in modern English; 'nationality' in this sense carries a stronger historical or political claim to self-rule

  • people

    broader and less formal; 'the Basque people' vs. 'the Basque nationality'

Grammar Patterns

a/an + nationality

adjective + nationality

Usage Note

This sense is close to 'ethnic group' and is most often used when discussing multi-ethnic states, historical empires, or regions where several cultural groups coexist within one country.

Common Mistakes

The Kurds are a nationality without a country' (technically correct but confusing for learners).
The Kurds are an ethnic group
or a nationality in the sense of a people sharing a culture and history.' — Clarify that this sense refers to cultural community, not legal citizenship.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Nationality and citizenship are closely related but not identical. Nationality refers to the legal bond between a person and a country for official purposes such as passport issuance, while citizenship more specifically includes political rights like voting and standing for office. In many countries the two terms are used interchangeably on official forms, but citizenship carries stronger connotations of participation in civic life. Ethnicity, by contrast, is about cultural and ancestral identity rather than legal status — a person can be ethnically Korean while holding Japanese nationality. Residency is narrower still: it means permission to live somewhere, which may be temporary and does not grant the right to a passport. For example, a permanent resident of Canada who has not been naturalised has Canadian residency but not Canadian nationality or citizenship.

nationality ↗citizenship ↗ethnicity ↗residency ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • nationality law
  • nationality issue
  • nationality status
  • nationality group

Phrases

  • country of nationality
  • person of no nationality
  • change of nationality

Prepositions

  • of + nationality
  • by nationality

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word entered English from French 'nationalité' in the late 1700s. The French term was built from 'national' (relating to a nation) plus the suffix '-ité', which forms abstract nouns. The ultimate root is Latin 'natio', meaning 'birth, tribe, or people', from the verb 'nasci' ('to be born'). The sense of a legal status tied to a particular country emerged in the 19th century as modern passports and border controls developed.