regional

regional — adjective

1. describing or belonging to one specific section of a nation instead of applying

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing or belonging to one specific section of a nation instead of applying to the whole country.

Example

The regional office in Padua handles all orders from customers in northern Italy.

collocation: regional office

Femi prefers the regional cuisine of West Africa, especially dishes with yam and peanuts.

collocation: regional cuisine

Common collocations
  • regional office
  • regional manager
  • regional authority
  • regional economy
  • regional dialect
  • regional cuisine
  • regional election
  • regional development
Synonyms
  • local

    narrower — refers to a single town or immediate area rather than a larger zone

  • provincial

    more formal and often suggests a sub-national political unit

  • territorial

    strongly legal or administrative, describing a defined territory

Antonyms
  • national

    covering the whole country rather than just one part

  • central

    relating to the main headquarters or governing body, not outlying areas

  • global

    worldwide in scope, not limited to one area

Grammar Patterns

regional + noun

Usage Note

Almost always placed before a noun. Common noun partners include 'office', 'manager', 'authority', 'economy', 'dialect', 'cuisine', and 'election'. This is by far the most frequent use of the word 'regional'.

Common Mistakes

She works at the local office of a multinational bank' (when it covers several cities).
She works at the regional office of a multinational bank.
'Local' means one town; 'regional' covers a wider administrative area like a state or province.
The region government announced new policies.
The regional government announced new policies.
Use the adjective form 'regional' before a noun, not the noun 'region'.

regional — noun

Word family

  • region
    nounA2
  • regionally
    adverbB2
  • regionalize
    verbC1
  • regionalism
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Local is the broadest everyday term, referring to the immediate neighbourhood or town around you. Regional covers a noticeably larger zone — a state, province, or several counties. Provincial is more formal and often carries an administrative or political meaning, especially in countries with provinces (e.g. Canada, China). Territorial is legal or governmental and refers to officially defined territory. Sectional is less common and suggests one part of a larger whole, sometimes with a connotation of division. District (as an adjective, e.g. 'district manager') is more specific than regional — a district is typically smaller than a region. For example, a 'local newspaper' covers one town; a 'regional newspaper' covers several towns across a state. A 'provincial government' sounds official and formal, while a 'regional government' is more neutral.

local ↗provincial ↗territorialsectionaldistrict ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • regionally

Phrases

  • at the regional level
  • on a regional basis

Prepositions

  • in a region
  • across a region
  • within a region

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'regionalis', meaning 'of or belonging to a region', derived from 'regio' (a district, a direction, a boundary line). 'Regio' itself comes from 'regere' (to rule, to direct). The word entered English in the 15th century through French régional. The noun sense of 'regional' (a local branch or edition) developed much later, in the 20th century, as businesses and media organizations created sub-national divisions.