Meaning & use
nationality
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The fact of being a legal member of a particular country, as shown by a passport.
Grammar: Countable when naming one: she has dual nationality; plural nationalities for several.
Patterns
- of French nationality
- hold dual nationality
Please write your name and nationality on the form.
He has Canadian nationality through his mother.
She applied for British nationality after ten years.
nouncountable
A group of people who share a common national identity, language or history, especially within a larger state.
Grammar: Often plural: the many nationalities in the city.
Patterns
- people of all nationalities
The school has students of fifty nationalities.
The empire included many nationalities.
Athletes of every nationality attended the games.
Word forms
| plural | nationalities |
|---|
Common combinations
- dual nationality
- Dual nationality lets her hold two passports.
- of mixed nationality
- The team is of mixed nationality.
- acquire nationality
- He acquired nationality by marriage.
- people of all nationalities
- People of all nationalities live here.
Synonyms and how they differ
- citizenship
- Citizenship stresses legal rights and duties in a country.
- ethnicity
- Ethnicity refers to cultural or ancestral background, not legal status.
- national origin
- National origin refers to where a person or ancestors came from.
Opposites
Word family
- nation noun
- a country or its people
- national adjective
- relating to a nation
- nationalism noun
- strong devotion to one's nation
- international adjective
- between nations
Commonly confused: nationality or national?
nationality vs national
A national is a citizen of a country; nationality is the status of being one.
Practice
On the visa form, under 'Nationality' she wrote ____.
Choose one answer.
Nationality is given as an adjective (Brazilian). Brazil is the country and Brazilians is a plural noun for the people.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nationality”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.