Asian
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to Asia or to any of its peoples or languages
-
of or relating to natives of the Indian subcontinent or any of their descendants, esp when living in Britain
noun
-
a native or inhabitant of Asia or a descendant of one
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a native of the Indian subcontinent or a descendant of one
Sensitive Note
Asian is the most commonly used term referring to people in or from Asia, especially East Asia. In American English, Oriental as a noun or adjective applied to people is outdated and has become a sensitive term to be avoided. It is associated with a bygone era in which Asians had subordinate status and their culture was perceived as strange and exotic. Also, the origin of the term Oriental represents a Eurocentric view of geography, since the Orient, or East, is east of Europe. However, Oriental is a neutral, inoffensive term when used as an adjective describing Asian culture or things from Asia. Similarly, the term Asiatic is usually offensive when referring to people, but neutral when referring to Asian culture, animals, etc. Though Asian is an acceptable ethnic designation in most contexts, it is best to be as specific as possible, rather than to group all Asians into a single cultural identity. In general, people of South, Southeast, and East Asian origin prefer to be identified by their country of origin: for example, Indian, Pakistani, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, or Chinese. The people of the Middle East and Polynesia are not usually referred to as Asian.
Usage
To refer to someone from the Indian subcontinent as an Asian is potentially offensive and should be avoided. If you are talking about one specific group, it is better to say so, for instance people of Indian descent
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Asian
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin Asiānus, from Greek Asiānós; see Asia, -an
Compare meaning
How does asian compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
These longer and less efficient journeys will tie up more tanker capacity and push up shipping costs for Asian refiners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A minor league team plans to launch in Irvine next year, and the entrepreneur behind it is pitching it as a way to provide fans with a taste of Asian baseball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Marco Rubio, who doubles as secretary of state and national security adviser, was in the Philippines, attending an Asian security conference, when the announcement was made.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Enthusiasm for tech shares boosted Asian stocks for a second day Wednesday, as more mayhem in the Middle East lifted Brent crude back above $92 a barrel and the yen came under renewed pressure.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
“It won’t be too spicy, but you did sign up for a South Asian cuisine class,” she says, very sweetly.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Since that interview, Rai has developed into a strong role model - not just for British Asians but aspiring golfers from all backgrounds.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
The Japanese genome study identified 44 archaic DNA regions still present in modern Japanese populations, many of them unique to East Asians.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
He peeled off voters from the Democratic Party’s base — Latinos, Asians and young Black men.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
So far in the 2025-26 admissions cycle, black and Hispanic applications to law school are again growing faster than those from whites and Asians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
In appearance and genes those islands’ inhabitants are similar to South Chinese, and even more similar to tropical Southeast Asians, especially those of the Malay Peninsula.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
