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

The Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong said at least seven Indonesian nationals died from the fire.

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"Most villagers chose to stay; they didn't want to leave their houses behind," said Idris, 55, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name.

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The bad weather has hampered rescue operations, and while tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, hundreds are still stranded, the Indonesian disaster agency said.

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Two Indonesian nationals who had been working on the buildings were also killed in the fire, a migrant charity said.

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The death toll from floods and landslides on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra this week has risen to 174, a disaster official said on Friday, with about 80 more people missing.

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