diasporic
Americanadjective
-
Often Diasporic of or relating to the Diaspora, the scattering of the Jews from the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah following the dissolution of those kingdoms and Babylonian captivity.
The diasporic book of Daniel celebrates Daniel's refusal to assimilate to the pressures of the gentile court in Babylon.
-
Often Diasporic of, being, or relating to the body of Jews living in countries other than Israel, or those countries collectively.
The Encyclopedia of Jewish Cultures provides a picture that encompasses Diasporic forms of Jewish existence, including the shift from sacredly imbued patterns to more secular ones.
-
Often Diasporic of, being, or relating to any group that has been dispersed outside its traditional homeland, either involuntarily or by migration.
In recent years large numbers of people have fled from Kurdistan, and Kurds now make up a broad range of diasporic communities around the world.
-
relating to, characterized by, or arising from the social phenomenon of dispersion, constant mobility, and rootlessness.
His poems project the turmoil of this particular fractured and diasporic moment, where the unsettled is the norm and all is in continuous flux.
Etymology
Origin of diasporic
First recorded in 1895–1900; diaspor(a) ( def. ) + -ic
Explanation
Diasporic describes groups of people who live far away from their home country. One of the largest diasporic communities in the U.S. is made up of Vietnamese immigrants. Anyone in a diasporic group shares a homeland or heritage with the other members of that group. Many of these communities formed after people had to leave their own country and find refuge in another — after the Vietnam War, thousands of Vietnamese citizens fled their homes. They now form a diasporic group of about five million in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, and Australia. Diasporic has a Greek root meaning "to scatter about."
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.
Kafka’s parables of angst and displacement are naturally diasporic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
It is West African, pan-African, and diasporic in origin, carrying Ghana's musical imprint at its foundation.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
Today, Gyopo organizes and invites Korean Americans, and anyone curious, to panels, screenings, art galleries and other cross-cultural programs that highlight the diverse art of the Korean diasporic community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
The physical toll that resulted seems almost impossible to fathom today: millions dead, a landscape destroyed, diasporic communities created, and countless people still poisoned by American chemical agents.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2025
It looks like a translation, but it’s really a text from Bravo to Zola’s diasporic sisters – seen, read and received.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2021
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
