Adjacent Words

National definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NATIONAL, a.
1. Pertaining to a nation; as national customs, dress or language.
2. Public; general; common to a nation; as a national calamity.
3. Attached or unduly attached to ones own country. The writer manifested much national prejudice. He was too national to be impartial.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country; "national hero"; "national anthem"; "a national landmark"
2: limited to or in the interests of a particular nation; "national interests"; "isolationism is a strictly national policy" [ant: international]
3: concerned with or applicable to or belonging to an entire nation or country; "the national government"; "national elections"; "of national concern"; "the national highway system"; "national forests" [ant: local]
4: owned or maintained for the public by the national government; "national parks"
5: inside the country; "the British Home Office has broader responsibilities than the United States Department of the Interior"; "the nation's internal politics" [syn: home, interior, internal, national]
6: characteristic of or peculiar to the people of a nation; "a national trait"
7: of or relating to nationality; "national origin" n
1: a person who owes allegiance to that nation; "a monarch has a duty to his subjects" [syn: national, subject]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 1580 1. of or relating to a nation 2. nationalist 3. comprising or characteristic of a nationality 4. belonging to or maintained by the federal government 5. of, relating to, or being a coalition government formed by most or all major political parties usually in a crisis • nationally adverb II. noun Date: 1887 1. one that owes allegiance to or is under the protection of a nation without regard to the more formal status of citizen or subject 2. a competition that is national in scope — usually used in plural Synonyms: see citizen

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 of or common to a nation or the nation. 2 peculiar to or characteristic of a particular nation. --n. 1 a citizen of a specified country, usu. entitled to hold that country's passport (French nationals). 2 a fellow countryman. 3 (the National) = Grand National. Phrases and idioms: national anthem a song adopted by a nation, expressive of its identity etc. and intended to inspire patriotism. National Assembly 1 an elected house of legislature in various countries. 2 hist. the elected legislature in France 1789-91. National Assistance hist. 1 (in Britain) the former official name for supplementary benefits under National Insurance. 2 such benefits. national bank US a bank chartered under the federal government. national convention US a convention of a major political party, nominating candidates for the presidency etc. national debt the money owed by a State because of loans to it. national football Austral. Australian Rules football. National Front a UK political party with extreme reactionary views on immigration etc. national grid Brit. 1 the network of high-voltage electric power lines between major power stations. 2 the metric system of geographical coordinates used in maps of the British Isles. National Guard (in the US) the primary reserve force partly maintained by the States but available for federal use. National Health (or Health Service) (in the UK) a system of national medical care paid for mainly by taxation and started in 1948. national income the total money earned within a nation. National Insurance (in the UK) the system of compulsory payments by employed persons (supplemented by employers) to provide State assistance in sickness, unemployment, retirement, etc. national park an area of natural beauty protected by the State for the use of the general public. national service Brit. hist. service in the army etc. under conscription. National Socialism hist. the doctrines of nationalism, racial purity, etc., adopted by the Nazis. National Socialist hist. a member of the fascist party implementing National Socialism in Germany, 1933-45. National Trust (in the UK, Australia, etc.) an organization for maintaining and preserving historic buildings etc. Derivatives: nationally adv. Etymology: F (as NATION)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

National Na"tion*al (?; 277), a. [Cf. F. national.] 1. Of or pertaining to a nation; common to a whole people or race; public; general; as, a national government, language, dress, custom, calamity, etc. 2. Attached to one's own country or nation. National anthem, a popular song or hymn which has become by general acceptance the recognized musical expression of the patriotic sentiment of a nation; as, ``God save the King'' is called the national anthem of England. National bank, the official common name of a class of banking corporations established under the laws of the United States. National flag. See under Flag. National guard, a body of militia, or a local military organization, as in Paris during the French Revolution, or as certain bodies of militia in other European countries and in the United States. National salute, a salute consisting of as many guns as there are States in the Union. [U.S.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(nationals) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. National means relating to the whole of a country or nation rather than to part of it or to other nations. Ruling parties have lost ground in national and local elections. ...major national and international issues. ADJ: usu ADJ n • nationally ...a nationally televised speech... Duncan Campbell is nationally known for his investigative work. ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj 2. National means typical of the people or customs of a particular country or nation. ...the national characteristics and history of the country... Baseball is the national pastime. ADJ: ADJ n 3. You can refer to someone who is legally a citizen of a country as a national of that country. ...a Sri-Lankan-born British national. = citizen N-COUNT: usu adj N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Public, general.

Moby Thesaurus

all-comprehending, all-comprehensive, all-covering, all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-filling, all-including, all-inclusive, all-pervading, allover, catholic, chauvinistic, citizen, citizen by adoption, civic, civil, clannish, common, communal, cosmopolitan, cosmopolite, country-wide, ecumenic, ethnic, family, federal, galactic, general, genetic, gentile, gentilic, global, governmental, heaven-wide, home, hyphenate, hyphenated American, immigrant, inhabitant, inland, internal, international, intestine, jingoistic, lineal, metic, municipal, nationalist, nationalistic, native, naturalized citizen, nondenominational, nonnative citizen, nonsectarian, patriotic, phyletic, phylogenetic, planetary, popular, public, racial, resident, social, societal, state, subject, supranational, total, totemic, tribal, universal, world-wide