ethnicity

noun

eth·​nic·​i·​ty eth-ˈni-sə-tē 

plural ethnicities

1

: ethnic quality or affiliation

aspects of ethnicity

2

: a particular ethnic affiliation or group

students of diverse ethnicities

Synonyms of ethnicity

• nationality
• nation

Examples of ethnicity in a Sentence

a university with a student body of diverse ethnicities

Recent Examples on the Web

Justice Brett Kavanaugh said apparent ethnicity could be a relevant factor for a stop if combined with other information. — Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026

Yet within days, her name transcended geography, ethnicity and even Iran itself. — Pegah Banihashemi, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026

Many job seekers worry that AI interviewers may have built-in biases regarding race, ethnicity, age, gender or manner of speaking. — Sophie Caldwell juhohn Lee, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026

WalletHub's analysis looked beyond race and ethnicity, measuring differences among states in areas such as income, education, language, birthplace, occupations, household makeup, religion and political views. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ethnicity

• basicity
• chronicity
• complicity
• cyclicity
• duplicity
• facticity
• felicity
• helicity
• plasticity
• publicity
• rusticity
• simplicity