mixed-race

American  

[mikst-reys] / ˈmɪkstˈreɪs /

adjective

Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

1. denoting or relating to a person whose parents belong to different racial or ethnic groups.

   mixed-race Brazilians.

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mixed-race British  

adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of people of different ethnic origins

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Sensitive Note

Despite the stigma sometimes associated with a mixed-race heritage and the fact that some mixed-race people identify with just one ethnic group, the term itself is usually considered acceptable.

Usage

The term mixed-race may well cause offence. The people so labelled might object to being thought of as a mixture, and identify with one ethnic group. Possible alternatives when referring specifically to ethic origins are of mixed ethnicity and of mixed ethnic origin

Etymology

Origin of mixed-race

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mixed-race

Isabella Silvers, whose weekly newsletter Mixed Messages explores "the mixed-race experience", said London was a fascinating city.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

One was her mixed-race dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckly, who betrayed Mary’s confidences in an 1868 memoir.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

Their varied ranks included people of European, Indigenous and mixed-race origins.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026

Mary Edmonia Lewis, a mixed-race sculptor who attended Oberlin College, learned her trade in Boston, then moved to Rome.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026

Among them was a man named William Custis Costin, who was the mixed-race son of Martha Washington’s son Jacky Custis.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis