Indonesian

[in-duh-nee-zhuhn, -shuhn, -zee-uhn, -doh-]

noun

1. a member of the ethnic group consisting of the natives of Indonesia, the Filipinos, and the Malays of Malaysia.

2. a member of a population supposed to have been resident in the Malay Archipelago before the Malays, and believed to constitute one element of the present mixed population of Malaysia and perhaps Polynesia.

3. Official Name Bahasa Indonesia. an Indonesian language that is based on the form of Malay spoken in Java and has the status of official language in the Republic of Indonesia.

4. the westernmost branch of the Austronesian family of languages, including Malay, Indonesian, Tagalog, and Malagasy.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Malay Archipelago.

2. of or relating to Indonesia, the Indonesians, or their languages.

Indonesian

/ ˌɪndəʊˈniːzɪən /

adjective

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

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Indonesia

2. another name for Bahasa Indonesia

Other Word Forms

• anti-Indonesian adjective
• pro-Indonesian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Indonesian¹

First recorded in 1840–50; Indonesi(a) + -an

Example Sentences

An agreement has been reached to allow two British prisoners convicted of drug smuggling to return home to the UK, the Indonesian government has said.

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The British embassy in Jakarta directed all queries to the Indonesian government.

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But unlike in Brazil and India, the Indonesian programme has been accused of being ineffective, despite its much higher cost, because of the mass food poisonings.

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So it should come as little surprise that the Indonesian government has sensed the opportunity to create another lucrative tourist haven on the sprawling archipelago.

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An "eco-city", a mining complex, and a massive project to grow food and fuel are all part of an Indonesian growth drive that activists allege is causing deforestation and dispossession.

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