Hawaiian

American  

[huh-wahy-uhn, -wah-yuhn] / həˈwaɪ ən, -ˈwɑ jən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Hawaii or the Hawaiian Islands.

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noun

• Hawaiians
  plural

1. a native or inhabitant of Hawaii or the Hawaiian Islands.

2. the aboriginal language of Hawaii, a Polynesian language.

Hawaiian British  

/ həˈwaɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Hawaii, its people, or their language

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Hawaii, esp one descended from Melanesian or Tahitian immigrants

2. a language of Hawaii belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Hawaiians
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Hawaiian

First recorded in 1815–25; Hawaii + -an

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Compare meaning

How does hawaiian compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Polynesian vs. Hawaiian

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Hawaiian Hawaiians

The research also included Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander participants, groups that have historically received limited representation in studies of aging and gut microorganisms.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

He was meeting with two executives and a lobbyist from a Hawaiian naval defense contractor called Navatek.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

Palmer Luckey, 34-year-old co-founder of Anduril, is building the world’s next frontier of warfare for the Pentagon but wears a uniform of exclusively Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts.

From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026

Since its purchase of Hawaiian Airlines two years ago, the Seattle-based carrier has been expanding its reach and trying to bring more travelers into its fold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Large and densely populated islands supported craft specialists who produced a wide range of prestige goods for chiefs—such as the feather capes reserved for Hawaiian chiefs and made of tens of thousands of bird feathers.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

The lack of stigma among the Hawaiians, we learn, is cause for colonial concern: Father Damien’s death becomes a local scandal, and provokes a moral panic among the American businessmen who had bought Hawaiian land.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

"They underscore why it is so important to move beyond treating Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders as a single population."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

He then urged his fellow Hawaiians to check in on their local communities and do what they can to support their neighbors.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 30, 2026

One of the best parts, to Alferos: The repayment goes into a pool to provide the same help for other young, low-income Hawaiians who come after him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025

Instead of standard English, everyone spoke Hawaiian Pidgin, a language mash-up created by Hawaiians and early Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, and American immigrants.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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