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foreign definition

for·eign (fôrin, fär-)

adjective

  1. situated outside one's own country, province, locality, etc. foreign lands
  2. of, from, or characteristic of another country or countries foreign languages
  3. having to do with the relations of one country to another country or countries foreign affairs, foreign trade
  4. not subject to the laws or jurisdiction of the specified country
    1. not natural to the person or thing specified; not belonging; not characteristic a trait foreign to one's nature
    2. not pertinent; irrelevant
  5. not organically belonging; introduced from outside: said of substances found in parts of the body or in organisms where they do not naturally occur

Etymology: ME forein < OFr forein, forain < LL foranus, foreign, orig., external < L foras, out-of-doors, orig. acc. pl. of OL fora, door

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
foreign Synonyms

foreign

modif.

  1. Concerning a country, idea, or way of life not one's own

    remote, exotic, strange, alien, far, distant, inaccessible, unaccustomed, different, unknown, unfamiliar, extrinsic, extraneous, external, outside, expatriate, exiled, from abroad, not native, not domestic, international, nonnative, nonresident, alienated, estranged, antipodal, faraway, far-off, hyperborean, beyond the rainbow, unexplored, transoceanic, transmarine, ultramontane, at the far corners of the earth, at the uttermost end of the earth, extralocal, beyond the pale, outlandish, picturesque, colorful.

    Antonyms local*, national*, indigenous. *

  2. Coming from a country not one's own

    alien, imported, borrowed, nonnative, immigrant, barbarian, barbaric, adopted, coming from another land, not domestic; see also sense 1.

    Antonyms native*, domestic*, aboriginal. *

  3. Organically or essentially different

    heterogeneous, unassimilable, unrelated, extraneous; see irrelevant, unsuitable.

foreign implies that the external object is organically so different that it cannot become assimilated a foreign substance in the blood; alien emphasizes the incompatibility of the external object with the subject in question such anger seems alien to his nature; extrinsic refers to that which, coming from outside a thing, is not inherent in its real nature the souvenir had great extrinsic value for him; extraneous, often synonymous with extrinsic, may connote the possibility of integration of the external object into the thing to which it is added extraneous grace notes


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

foreign Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • currency: Over £ 100 million of foreign currency is currently lying around in UK homes.

Modifying Another Word

  • totally: This technology is totally foreign to the agricultural trade.

Used with adjective complement

  • sell: Is it legal to sell foreign Coca-Cola in the UK?
foreign usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

foreign quotes

Who can tell without instruction what is likely to be the effect of thenew loans of England toforeignnations? We press upon half-finished and half-civilized communities incalculable sums; we are to them what the London money-dealers are to students at Oxford and Cambridge.

-Bagehot,Walter

I am not going to spend any time whatsoever attacking the Foreign Secretary.Quite honestly, I am beginning to feel extremely sorry for him. If we complain about the tune, there is no reason to attack the monkey when the organ grinder is present.

-Bevan, Aneurin

If you carry this resolution, you will send a Foreign Secretaryöwhoever he may beönaked into the conference chamber.You call that statesmanship. I call it an emotional spasm.

-Bevan, Aneurin

foreign quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"foreign." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/foreign>

APA Style

foreign. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/foreign

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