ethnically

Meanings

1. 1adverbnot comparable

   In a way that concerns the shared ancestry, culture, language or traditions of a group of people.

   Grammar: Usually placed before an adjective or participle: an ethnically mixed town, ethnically motivated.

   Patterns

   • ethnically + adjective

   The city is one of the most ethnically diverse in the country.

   Researchers surveyed an ethnically mixed group of volunteers.

   The region was once ethnically uniform, but that has changed.

2. 2adverbnot comparable

   With respect to a person's ethnic origin or background.

   Grammar: Often introduces how someone is classified: ethnically, she is Korean.

   Patterns

   • ethnically speaking

   Ethnically, most villagers belong to the same minority group.

   He is ethnically Greek but grew up in Canada.

Common combinations

ethnically diverse

The school serves an ethnically diverse community.

ethnically homogeneous

Few countries today are ethnically homogeneous.

ethnically motivated

Police said the attack was ethnically motivated.

ethnically mixed

They live in an ethnically mixed neighbourhood.

ethnically distinct

The two valleys were home to ethnically distinct peoples.

Synonyms and how they differ

racially

Racially stresses supposed physical or biological categories, while ethnically stresses culture, language and ancestry.

culturally

Culturally is wider and covers shared customs of any group, whereas ethnically ties them to a group's heritage and origin.

nationally

Nationally relates to belonging to a nation or state, which may include several ethnic groups.

Word family

ethnic adjective

relating to a group sharing a common heritage

ethnicity noun

the ethnic group someone belongs to

ethnicities noun

plural of ethnicity

multiethnic adjective

including several ethnic groups

Commonly confused: ethnically or ethically?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “ethnically”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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