¹national

adjective na·tion·al \ˈnash-nəl, ˈna-shə-n^əl\

: of or relating to an entire nation or country

: owned and controlled or operated by a national government

Full Definition of NATIONAL

: of or relating to a nation

: nationalist

: comprising or characteristic of a nationality

: belonging to or maintained by the federal government

: of, relating to, or being a coalition government formed by most or all major political parties usually in a crisis

— na·tion·al·ly adverb

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First Known Use of NATIONAL

1580

Related to NATIONAL

Synonyms: civil, public

Antonyms: nonnational

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

Rhymes with NATIONAL

passional, rational

²national

noun

: a person who is a citizen of a country

nationals : competitions in which people or teams from all areas of a country compete

Full Definition of NATIONAL

: one that owes allegiance to or is under the protection of a nation without regard to the more formal status of citizen or subject

: a competition that is national in scope —usually used in plural

See national defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of NATIONAL

1887

Related to NATIONAL

Synonyms: freeman, citizen, subject

Antonyms: alien, noncitizen

Synonym Discussion of NATIONAL

citizen, subject, national mean a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state. citizen is preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people <the rights of a free citizen>. subject implies allegiance to a personal sovereign such as a monarch <the king's subjects>. national designates one who may claim the protection of a state and applies especially to one living or traveling outside that state <American nationals working in the Middle East>.