national

/ˈnæʃənəl/

/ˈnæʃənəl/

Other forms: nationals

National is an adjective that refers to something or someone that belongs to a nation or country. Baseball is the national pastime of the United States.

The word national describes anything that is common to, shared by, or represents a group of people or a place that is considered a nation, like the national anthem sung before the national pastime of baseball. National statistics provide information about a country as a whole. During times of war, the national mood is usually tense and sad. A national is also a citizen of a nation. You might be called an “American national” if you are an American living in Paris.

Definitions of national

1. adjective

   of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country
   “national hero”

   “national anthem”

   “a national landmark”
2. adjective

   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”

   synonyms:

   federal

   national; especially in reference to the government of the United States as distinct from that of its member units

   antonyms:

   local

   relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area
3. adjective

   of or relating to nationality
   “national origin”
4. adjective

   limited to or in the interests of a particular nation
   “national interests”

   “isolationism is a strictly national policy”

   synonyms:

   domestic

   of concern to or concerning the internal affairs of a nation

   nationalist, nationalistic

   devotion to the interests or culture of a particular nation including promoting the interests of one country over those of others

   antonyms:

   international

   concerning or belonging to all or at least two or more nations

   foreign

   of concern to or concerning the affairs of other nations (other than your own)

   global, planetary, world, world-wide, worldwide

   involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope

   internationalist, internationalistic

   influenced by or advocating internationalism

   multinational, transnational

   involving or operating in several nations or nationalities

   supranational

   transcending established national boundaries or spheres of interest
5. adjective

   owned or maintained for the public by the national government
   “national parks”

   synonyms:

   public

   not private; open to or concerning the people as a whole
6. adjective

   inside the country
   synonyms: home, interior, internal

   domestic

   of concern to or concerning the internal affairs of a nation
7. adjective

   characteristic of or peculiar to the people of a nation
   “a national trait”
8. noun

   a person who owes allegiance to that nation
   synonyms: subject

   types:

   citizen

   a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community

   compatriot

   a person from your own country

   nationalist, patriot

   one who loves and defends his or her country

   active citizen

   a citizen who takes an active role in the community (as in crime prevention and neighborhood watch)

   chauvinist, flag-waver, hundred-percenter, jingo, jingoist, patrioteer

   an extreme bellicose nationalist

   civilian

   a nonmilitary citizen

   countryman

   a man from your own country

   countrywoman

   a woman from your own country

   freeman, freewoman

   a person who is not a serf or a slave

   private citizen

   a citizen who does not hold any official or public position

   repatriate

   a person who has returned to the country of origin or whose citizenship has been restored

   thane

   a man ranking above an ordinary freeman and below a noble in Anglo-Saxon England (especially one who gave military service in exchange for land)

   elector, voter

   a citizen who has a legal right to vote

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being