Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for multicultural. Search instead for multi-cultures.
Synonyms

multicultural

American  
[muhl-tee-kuhl-cher-uhl, muhl-tahy-] / ˌmʌl tiˈkʌl tʃər əl, ˌmʌl taɪ- /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or representing several different cultures or cultural elements.

    a multicultural society.


multicultural British  
/ ˌmʌltɪˈkʌltʃərəl /

adjective

  1. consisting of, relating to, or designed for the cultures of several different races

"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

Etymology

Origin of multicultural

First recorded in 1940–45; multi- + cultural

Explanation

Multicultural things are made up of or include more than one ethnic group or culture. Your multicultural food fair might include dishes from Chile, Syria, Sudan, and France. The world is multicultural, and societies in most countries are multicultural. We all need to learn about people whose religions, skin color, histories, and cultures are completely different from ours — you can get this from multicultural education, like a world history class that includes multicultural perspectives. When the word multicultural was first used in the mid-twentieth century, it often referred to Canada. Multi- means "many," and cultural comes from the Latin cultura, "cultivating."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing multicultural

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.

Rev. David Black leads the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago in Hyde Park, a congregation that describes itself as “progressive” with “traditional theology,” and also as multigenerational, multiracial, multiethnic and multicultural.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

"This is our fourth generation in Pakistan," he said, adding there are more than 106 Bengali neighbourhoods in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city which is known as a multicultural melting pot.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

“There are so many ways to ease the grief for the Jewish community in Bondi, without having a tin ear for the rest of multicultural Australia.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

"In reality, it's a multicultural province," he told the BBC.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

The field of ethnomusicology is well positioned to contribute toward multicultural and diversity education, and, after a brief description of ethnomusicology, its tenets will be applied towards an examination of them.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin