tribal
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of a tribe.
tribal customs in Indonesia.
-
designating, characterized by, or relating to a strong sense of loyalty to one’s own tribe, party, or group.
Tribal politics can be divisive and counterproductive.
noun
adjective
-
of or denoting a tribe or tribes
tribal chiefs in northern Yemen
-
displaying loyalty to a tribe, group, or tribal values
the tribal loyalties of Labour MPs
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tribal
Explanation
Tribal things have something to do with a group or tribe, like Native Americans' tribal land, where certain tribes lived for thousands of years. You might have heard the term "tribal sovereignty" before — it's basically the legal right of indigenous or native people to govern themselves under certain conditions. In the United States, for example, tribal groups are recognized as "domestic dependent nations." Sometimes the adjective tribal is slightly derogatory, but only when it's used to mean "overly loyal to a group."
Vocabulary lists containing tribal
"Black Panther" Lingo
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -al, -ial
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TKAM excerpt
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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.
Sir Billy had a unique unifying effect on a normally partisan and tribal rugby league community.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Badr invites us to join him at a tribal gathering, where the head of a charitable foundation is to honour him with a medal.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
For most of the 20th century, the federal government managed, and frequently mismanaged, the energy resources on tribal trust lands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
But a 2015 Government Accountability Office investigation noted impediments to their use: uncertainty about which government functions were “inherently federal” and therefore outside tribal authority, a cumbersome application process, and cost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The man speaking had tribal marks all over his cheek; there seemed to be no area of skin free of the ingrained lines.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
