adjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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Occidentalismnoun
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Occidentalistnoun
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occidentalitynoun
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nonoccidentaladjective
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pseudooccidentaladjective
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unoccidentaladjective
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Occidentallyadverb
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nonoccidentallyadverb
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occidentallyadverb
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unoccidentallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of occidental
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin occidentālis western, equivalent to occident- Occident ( def. ) + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
You can use the adjective occidental to describe the Western part of the world, as opposed to Asia and the Middle East. The United States is an occidental country. The word occidental is uncommon these days, in part because it's historically been the opposite of oriental, a term for the Eastern countries of the world, mainly Asia — which has come to be considered offensive (or at least old-fashioned). You won't hurt anyone's feelings by describing Europe or Canada as occidental, though few people will know what you mean. The Latin root, occidentem , means "western sky" or "sunset."
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.
See Examples For:
“Suffice to say that utilizing an occidental sci-fi vehicle to carry a ... mythical Buddhist tale is a miscalculation,” Zhu said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2018
But long after Texaco is gone, the vision she’s granted him will endure: In the centre, an occidental urban logic, all lined up, ordered, strong like the French language.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 15, 2015
Throughout his career as a studio boss, Run Run borrowed every occidental movie trend, lending each the special Shaw glamour and pizzazz.
From Time ● Jan. 7, 2014
His ornate audience-chamber was furnished with occidental armchairs, Chinese tables and innumerable glass cases crammed with exquisitely gowned Japanese dolls.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had heard from me of oriental scales, and savage music, in which there were fractional tones unknown to the occidental system.
From Lafcadio Hearn by Nina H. Kennard
The only object of Persian art at all familiar to average occidentals is the famed throne upon which sit Persia's Shahs.
From Time Magazine Archive
Simple as these tales, their presentation is made to seem curious to occidentals by the antique conventions of Chinese drama.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Admitting that we occidentals do not understand the character of your..."
From Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad
From the outer standpoint such meetings are inconceivable, for we are orientals whereas you are occidentals.
From The Promulgation of Universal Peace by `Abdu'l-Bahá
Nathalie Haldin surprised me by saying, as if she had thought very much on the subject, that the occidentals did not understand the situation.
From Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad
Definitions 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.
