netizens

Meanings

1. 1nounpluralinformal

   People who spend a lot of time online and take part in internet communities and discussions.

   Grammar: Plural of netizen; often the subject of a news sentence.

   Patterns

   • netizens react to something

   Netizens quickly shared the video all over social media.

   Many netizens complained about the new app update.

   The campaign was started by netizens, not by the company.

2. 2nounpluralformal

   Internet users thought of as a group with shared rights and responsibilities in online spaces.

   Grammar: Used in discussions of online behavior and freedom.

   Patterns

   • rights of netizens

   Netizens have a responsibility to treat each other with respect.

   The law raised concerns among netizens about privacy.

   Responsible netizens check facts before sharing stories.

Word forms

Common combinations

netizens react

Netizens reacted with surprise to the announcement.

angry netizens

Angry netizens flooded the comment section.

rights of netizens

The group defends the rights of netizens.

fellow netizens

She thanked her fellow netizens for their support.

netizens around the world

Netizens around the world joined the campaign.

Synonyms and how they differ

internet users

Internet users is a neutral phrase for anyone online, whereas netizens suggests active members of a community.

online community

Online community describes the group as a whole, while netizens names the individuals.

cybercitizens

Cybercitizens is rarer and more formal, stressing civic membership online.

surfers

Surfers describes people browsing the web casually and sounds more dated.

Opposites

Word family

netizen noun

one active internet user

citizen noun

a legal member of a country

internet noun

the global computer network

net noun

short for internet or network

Commonly confused: netizens or denizens?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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