nonnative
nonnative — adjective
1. used to describe a plant, animal, or other living thing that exists in an area w
used to describe a plant, animal, or other living thing that exists in an area where it does not naturally occur, usually because people brought it there from somewhere else.
Feng warned hikers that the nonnative ivy was strangling the oak trees in the valley.
nonnative + plant noun
The fishery removed thousands of nonnative carp from the lake last spring.
nonnative + animal noun
Many garden flowers in Taiwan are nonnative, having arrived with Dutch traders centuries ago.
Sofia studied how nonnative insects spread across the islands after the storms.
Park rangers pull up nonnative grasses every weekend to protect local wildflowers.
- introduced
neutral biology term for a species brought from elsewhere
- invasive
stronger; specifically a nonnative species that spreads and causes harm
- exotic
older biology term; can sound positive (decorative plants) or neutral
- native
naturally occurring in the area
- indigenous
more formal; lived there before human introduction
文法句型
nonnative + species/plant/animal
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a plant, animal, fish, insect, or microbe; rarely used of single individual creatures, more often of populations or species.
常見錯誤
2. describing someone whose birthplace is different from their current home, or who
describing someone whose birthplace is different from their current home, or whose mother tongue is something other than the language used around them.
Nadia teaches English to nonnative speakers at the community college every Saturday morning.
fixed phrase: nonnative speaker
As a nonnative resident of Kyoto, Liam still asks his neighbours about local festival rules.
nonnative + resident
The conference welcomed nonnative researchers with translation headsets at every session.
Darius writes poetry in French, even though he is a nonnative user of the language.
Many nonnative employees at the bank take free Mandarin classes during lunch break.
- foreign
broader; can sound less neutral than 'nonnative'
- non-local
vague about origin; just means 'not from around here'
- expatriate
noun, not adjective; specifically someone living abroad long-term
- native
born or first-language in the place
文法句型
nonnative + speaker/resident
nonnative speaker of [language]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: when the noun is a person (speaker, resident, student, employee), this is sense 2. The most frequent collocation by far is 'nonnative speaker'.
常見錯誤
3. not part of the original group of people, especially the first peoples of North
not part of the original group of people, especially the first peoples of North or South America, who lived in a region before others arrived from outside.
Tunde studied how nonnative settlers changed farming patterns across the Great Plains.
nonnative + settlers/communities
The museum displays art made by both nonnative artists and members of the Lakota nation.
contrast with indigenous group name
Yael wrote her thesis on nonnative populations living on tribal land in Arizona.
Most early nonnative traders along the Amazon never learned the languages of the local tribes.
- settler
noun; someone who moved in from outside, often with colonial overtones
- non-indigenous
near-synonym; slightly more neutral in academic writing
- indigenous
belonging to the original peoples of a region
- native
in this sense, refers specifically to First Peoples
文法句型
nonnative + community/settler
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: this sense specifically contrasts with indigenous peoples of the Americas, not just 'people born elsewhere'. Often appears in history, anthropology, or land-rights contexts.