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occidental

American  
[ok-si-den-tl] / ˌɒk sɪˈdɛn tl /

adjective

  1. (usually initial capital letter)  of, relating to, or characteristic of the Occident or its natives and inhabitants.

  2. western.


noun

  1. (usually initial capital letter)  a native or inhabitant of the Occident.

occidental British  
/ ˌɒksɪˈdɛntəl /

adjective

  1. a literary or formal word for western Compare oriental

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonoccidental adjective
  • nonoccidentally adverb
  • occidentality noun
  • occidentally adverb
  • pseudooccidental adjective
  • unoccidental adjective
  • unoccidentally adverb

Etymology

Origin of occidental

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin occidentālis western, equivalent to occident- Occident ( def. ) + -ālis -al 1

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.

As the all-Asian chorus line, bewigged to resemble standard Broadway hoofers, strut their stuff, we realise just how offensive it is when, as more often happens, occidental actors play oriental roles.

From The Guardian

So is the “syndrome” all in the prejudiced occidental mind?

From The Guardian

“They were my first introduction to occidental culture,” Chinese-born physicist Tsung Dao Lee recalled.

From Washington Post

The idea of “Japanese” alludes, perhaps, to “otherness,” to an enduring occidental fascination with the obliqueness of the Far East, of words that look like pictures and ancient ceremonies with complex rules.

From New York Times

But long after Texaco is gone, the vision she’s granted him will endure: In the centre, an occidental urban logic, all lined up, ordered, strong like the French language.

From The Guardian