southern Hear it!

southern Definition

south·ern (sut̸h′ərn)

adjective

  1. in, of, to, toward, or facing the south
  2. from the south a southern wind
  3. ☆ of or characteristic of the South
  4. ☆ designating a dialect of American English spoken in the Delmarva Peninsula, the Va. Piedmont, E N.C. and S.C., Ga., Fla., Ark., Tenn., and the states along the Gulf of Mexico

Etymology: ME < OE suthern

noun

Dialectal southerner (sense )

Southern Synonyms

Southern

modif.

South Atlantic, Confederate, south of the Mason-Dixon line, Gulf, Old South, New South, cotton-raising, tobacco-raising.

southern Synonyms

southern

modif.

in the south, of the south, from the south, toward the south, austral, meridional, southerly; see also south 1.

southern Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • now: Toward the end of the Triassic, sea-level started to rise and a warm, shallow sea developed over what is now southern England.
  • very: Luckily most of the oil was confined to the very southern end away from the main harbor and only three swans were originally affected.
  • even: An independent Kurdistan or even southern Shia Iraq should not concern us so long as they are democratic and peaceable.

Modifies a noun

  • hemisphere: Most of the southern hemisphere of Mars consists of such ancient crust.
  • province: In 1830 this arrangement broke down, and the southern provinces became the independent kingdom of Belgium.
  • shore: Other Attractions Aquarium of the Lakes is on the southern shore of Lake Windermere near Newby Bridge.
  • coast: Ventnor Resort on the southern coast of the Island.
  • edge: On the southern edge of the town the road descends a steep hill into the valley of the River Tern.
  • tip: Rock face is on the southern tip of the reef.

Used with adjective complement

  • invade: The Romans invaded southern England first but also made their way up to Scotland.
  • visit: A veteran commentator recently visited southern Africa, where he met families struck by the virus.
  • include: Most of these birds spend the winter in Central America, and parts of South America including southern Chile and Argentina.
  • flee: Nearly a million civilians who fled southern Lebanon are now returning to find they have lost homes, possessions, and livelihoods.
  • tour: There was plenty of time to tour southern India at weekends and to meet elephants to which Tom Lock became particularly attached.
  • strike: On 17 January 1994, one of the costliest natural disasters in United States history struck southern California.