Synonyms for foreign
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Alien — alien; strange; uncharacteristic
alien, exotic, irrelevant, nonresident, extrinsic, remote, barbaric, intrusive, frem, outlandish dated
2. From a different country — outside, outdoors, outdoor
international, overseas, oversea UK, external, outside, exterior, outward dated
Other
extraneous, foreign-born, other, adventitious, distant, inappropriate, uncharacteristic, strange dated
Definitions
- adj. 1
Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.
It was completely foreign to their way of thinking.
- adj. 2
Outside, outdoors, outdoor.
Related words
Choose the right word
Foreign refers to difference of birth, alien to difference of allegiance. In their figurative use, that is foreign which is remote, unlike, or unconnected; that is alien which is conflicting, hostile, or opposed.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- alien The concept is quite alien to our way of thinking.
- exotic I'm looking for exotic countries for my next book.
- international International disputes must be settled peacefully.
- overseas That concept germinated here and thrived overseas.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| foreign | falling | |
| alien | rising | |
| exotic | rising | |
| nonresident | falling | |
| frem | steady | |
| international | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- frem
- 5 letters
- other2, alien3
- 6 letters
- remote2, exotic3
- 7 letters
- outside2, strange1, distant2, outward2, oversea3
- 8 letters
- external3, overseas3, exterior4, barbaric3
- 9 letters
- intrusive3, extrinsic3
- 10 letters
- irrelevant4, outlandish3, extraneous4
- 11 letters
- nonresident4
- 12 letters
- adventitious
- 13 letters
- international5, inappropriate5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (other2 = 2 syllables).