occidental

[ ok-si-den-tl ]

/ ˌɒk sɪˈdɛn tl /

adjective

(usually initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of the Occident or its natives and inhabitants.

noun

(usually initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of the Occident.

Nearby words

occasional table, occasionalism, occasionally, occasions, occident, occidental, occidentalism, occidentalize, occipital, occipital artery, occipital bone

Origin of occidental

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin occidentālis western, equivalent to occident- occident + -ālis -al¹

Related forms

oc·ci·den·tal·i·ty, nounoc·ci·den·tal·ly, adverbnon·oc·ci·den·tal, adjectivenon·oc·ci·den·tal·ly, adverb

pseu·do·oc·ci·den·tal, adjectiveun·oc·ci·den·tal, adjectiveun·oc·ci·den·tal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for occidental

“My first act of political activism was when I was at Occidental College,” he said in Senegal, on his 2013 trip to Africa.
How Obama's Shallow Worldview Failed Us|Stuart Stevens|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The more violent aspect of the anti-apartheid movement was, safe to say, largely lost on Occidental College protestors.
How Obama's Shallow Worldview Failed Us|Stuart Stevens|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Barry ultimately left the Choom Gang for Occidental College and then, in his junior year, transferred to Columbia in New York.
David Maraniss’s Biography Spills on Obama’s Pot-Smoking & More|Matthew DeLuca, Caitlin Dickson|May 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In the summer of 1982, Obama was in a long-distance relationship with a former Occidental College classmate named Alex McNear.
David Maraniss’s ‘Barack Obama: The Story’ Excerpted in Vanity Fair: Juiciest Bits|Ben Jacobs|May 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST

He is now a diplomacy and world affairs professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Reboot America!|The Daily Beast|July 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
But on these I will not dwell; they were an outwork; it was in the occidental scenery that Skelt was all himself.
Memories and Portraits|Robert Louis Stevenson
The Hindus are a suicidal race; the reverse of the occidental conception, suicide is a quick and glorious route to Heaven.
The Adventures of Kathlyn|Harold MacGrath
But of course, this may be only one of my occidental illusions.
Captain Macedoine's Daughter|William McFee
As for the Malay, thirst and hunger have also made their marks upon him; but not as with those of Occidental race.
The Castaways|Captain Mayne Reid
The latter word evokes to occidental ears images of sensual seduction which the Moroccan harem seldom realizes.
In Morocco|Edith Wharton

British Dictionary definitions for occidental (1 of 2)

occidental

/ (ˌɒksɪˈdɛntəl) /

adjective

a literary or formal word for western Compare oriental

British Dictionary definitions for occidental (2 of 2)

Occidental

/ (ˌɒksɪˈdɛntəl) sometimes not capital /

adjective

of or relating to the Occident

noun

an inhabitant, esp a native, of the Occident

Derived Forms

Occidentalism, nounOccidentalist, noun, adjectiveOccidentally, adverb

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