Meaning & use
aborigines
Last updated
The original or earliest known inhabitants of a region.
See it in a sentence
Archaeologists studied tools left behind by the aborigines of the ancient valley.
The museum exhibit traced how the aborigines of the island adapted to their environment over centuries.
A note on using this word
When referring to Australia's indigenous peoples specifically, capitalized 'Aboriginal peoples' is now the preferred and more respectful term; lowercase 'aborigines' is a general, somewhat dated word for original inhabitants of any place.
Words with a similar meaning
indigenous peoplenatives
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
settlerscolonizers
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