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foreign

Syllabification: (for·eign)
Pronunciation: /ˈfôrən, ˈfär-/

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Definition of foreign

adjective

  • 1of, from, in, or characteristic of a country or language other than one’s own:a foreign language
  • dealing with or relating to other countries:foreign policy
  • of or belonging to another district or area.
  • coming or introduced from outside:the quotation is a foreign element imported into the work
  • (of a law or restriction) outside the local jurisdiction.
  • 2strange and unfamiliar:I suppose this all feels pretty foreign to you
  • (foreign to) not belonging to or characteristic of:crime and brutality are foreign to our nature and our country

Derivatives

foreignness

noun

Origin:

Middle English foren, forein, from Old French forein, forain, based on Latin foras, foris 'outside', from fores 'door'. The current spelling arose in the 16th century, by association with sovereign

Remember that foreign is spelled with the e before the i; the ending is -gn.

foreign in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of foreign in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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