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minority

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minority

  • /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/ UK
  • /mɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/ UK
  • /maɪˈnoɹ.ɪ.ti/ Canada, US
  • /mɪˈnoɹ.ɪ.ti/ Canada, US
  • /maɪˈnoɹ.ə.ti/ Canada, US
  • /maɪˈnɑ.ɹɪ.ti/ New York City
  • /mɪˈnɑ.ɹɪ.ti/ New York City
  • /mɑeˈnɔɹ.ə.ti/ Australia
  • /maɪˈnɒɹ.ə.ti/ New Zealand
  • [mɑe̯ˈnɔ̟ɹ.ə.ti] New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɒɹɪti

Where it comes from

From Late Middle English minoritie, from Middle French minorité, and its source Late Latin minōritās, from Latin minor. Morphologically minor + -ity.

noun minorities

  1. countable, uncountable The state or condition of being smaller, inferior, or subordinate to something or someone else; lesserness.
  2. countable, uncountable The state of being a minor; youth, the period of a person's life prior to reaching adulthood. And lest any man should think her intent was to unnestle ill neighbours, and not to aid good neighbours, or that she was readier to restore what was invaded by others than to render what was in her own hands; see if the time provided not a new occasion afterwards, when through their own division, wi

    Similar: childhood · Opposite: adulthood

  3. countable, uncountable Any subgroup that does not form a numerical majority. Most people agreed, but a sizable minority were upset by the decision.

    Opposite: majority

  4. US, countable, uncountable A member of an ethnic minority. The company claims it has hired several minorities since the complaint was lodged.
  5. countable, uncountable A group of people seen as distinct who are subordinated and discriminated against in a society. But we have seen that one important difference between women and other minorities is that women's attitudes and self-conceptions are conditioned more largely by interaction with both minority and dominant group members
  6. India, countable, euphemistic, uncountable A Muslim.

adjective more minority · most minority

  1. attributive, relational Of or relating to a minority. They hold a minority interest in the company.
  2. attributive, usually, of a party Empowered by or representing a minority (usually a plurality) of votes cast, legislative seats, etc., rather than an outright majority thereof. minority government

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: nonage, small, elite, inferiority, community, ethnic, handful, majority, fraction, dissenting, dissident, language, roma, francophone, siu, districting

Translations

Every language

noun period or condition of a person prior to reaching adulthood

Españolminoría
한국어미성년 miseongnyeon
हिन्दीअवयस्कता avayaskatā, नाबालिग़पन nābāliġpan
Portuguêsmenoridade
Françaisminorité
Русскийнесовершенноле́тие nesoveršennolétije

noun subgroup that does not form a numerical majority

Españolminoría, minoridad
한국어소수 sosu
日本語少数 shōsū
中文少數 /少数 shǎoshù
Portuguêsminoria
Françaisminorité
DeutschMinderheit, Minorität
Italianominoranza
Ελληνικάμειονότητα meionótita
Românăminoritate
Русскийменьшинство́ menʹšinstvó
Tiếng Việtthiểu số, số ít
العربيةأَقَلِّيَّة ʔaqalliyya
עבריתמיעוט, מִעוּט mi'út

noun member of an ethnic minority

हिन्दीअल्पसंख्यक alpasaṅkhyak
Ελληνικάμειονότητα meionótita
Tiếng Việtngười dân tộc thiểu số
עבריתבֵּן מִעוּטִים ben mi'utím

adj of or relating to a minority

Españolminoritario
Françaisminoritaire
Italianominoritario

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Cite this
MLA

"minority." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/minority. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

minority. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/minority

Chicago

"minority." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/minority.

BibTeX
@misc{minority_2026,
  title = {minority},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/minority},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}