as in marginal
located at or near a border
a frontier town with a reputation for vice and lawlessness
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in border
a region along the dividing line between two countries
the Apaches were once feared on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico frontier
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in countryside
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
Alaska has been called America's last frontier
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of frontier
Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026
The executive order directs various high-ranking government officials to develop and maintain a classified process for assessing whether new AI programs should be designated as frontier models, also called foundation models.
—Anjana Susarla, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Adjective
That worried Huang, who fears a Chinese rival, and White House officials, who believe Chinese dependence on non-frontier American chips is the best way to ensure a lead in AI.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Noun
Never before has the US government taken such sweeping measures to rein in foreign access to frontier AI models developed by an American company.
—Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026
The executive order directs various high-ranking government officials to develop and maintain a classified process for assessing whether new AI programs should be designated as frontier models, also called foundation models.
—Anjana Susarla, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frontier
Adjective
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That’s what makes both marginal figures like Ormond and fundamental ones like the two antiheroines so important.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
15 June 2026
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And that could subsequently lead to a marginal reduction in mortgage interest rates.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
Noun
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Lower Manhattan became frozen beyond expectation, with subways stopping south of Canal Street, a border that had earlier applied only to cars.—
Amina Kilpatrick,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
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The move, aimed at securing Finland’s collective defense, roughly doubled NATO’s border with Russia.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
Noun
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Aegon, dragged out of King’s Landing by spymaster Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) in an effort to save him from the fratricidal Aemond, gets an up-close look at the petty tyrants who have sprouted up in the countryside thanks to his impetuous rule.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
18 June 2026
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The film follows two middle-aged friends who swear each drink is their last, only to go on a bender across the Italian countryside with a shy architecture student.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
17 June 2026
Noun
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The treaty involves regular onsite inspections by the IAEA to confirm that countries are complying with the treaty’s terms.—
Adithi Ramakrishnan,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
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Beijing broadly denies providing weapons to countries in conflict.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
Noun
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The movie goes from this weird, seedy love motel to the industrial backwaters, and these long walks and talks down empty streets.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
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Even the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence boom were laid by the NSF in the 1980s and 1990s, when neural networks were a backwater dismissed by mainstream computer science.—
Gautam Mukunda,
Twin Cities,
14 May 2026
Noun
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The menu is top-tier and uses as much local produce from the ocean and nearby hinterland as possible.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
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The film eliminated even a gesture toward a plot while showing solitary nonprofessional and real-life ranch-hand Misael Saavedra chopping and hauling logs in the Argentinian hinterlands (in actuality, Alonso’s family’s ranch).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
25 May 2026
Noun
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Vermont’s black bears now run well above the state’s management target, and the crowds in the backcountry keep growing.—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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The tests were conducted 26 years after the remains were first discovered in a sleeping bag in the backcountry of Washington state's Olympic National Park.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
Noun
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There’s a mahogany bar overlooking the open bush, outdoor canvas baths and a sense of old-world glamour that feels like it might have been lifted straight from a Hollywood movie.—
Sarah Kingdom,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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Friday by university staff in some bushes inside of the West Circle near Oxford Street.—
Harry Harris,
Mercury News,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frontier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frontier. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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