Multicultural

/ˌmʌltɪˈkʌltʃərəl/

adjectivemedium🔥Very CommonGeneral
1 meaning1 idiom/phrase3 questions

Definitions

1

Characterized by or including multiple cultures or cultural groups.

/ˌmʌltɪˈkʌltʃərəl/

adjectiveneutralmedium
General

Relating to or including many different cultures.

The festival celebrated the multicultural heritage of the city.

💡 Simply: Think of a place where people from all over the world live together, each with their own traditions, foods, and languages. That's multicultural! Like a big, tasty salad with lots of different ingredients.

👶 For kids: When there are many different kinds of people and their cultures living together in one place, that's multicultural!

More Examples

2

The company's multicultural workforce fosters creativity and innovation.

3

The university offers a wide range of multicultural studies programs.

How It's Used

Sociology

"The city is known for its multicultural neighborhoods and vibrant community life."

Education

"Schools are increasingly adopting multicultural curricula to reflect diverse student populations."

Politics

"The country's multicultural policies aim to promote understanding between different ethnic groups."

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms & expressions

melting pot

A place where different cultures or groups of people blend together.

"New York City is often described as a melting pot of different cultures."

From multi- (meaning 'many') + cultural (relating to culture). The term gained prominence in the late 20th century, reflecting increasing global migration and recognition of diverse societies.

The term 'multicultural' began to be used widely in the late 20th century, particularly in the context of social and political discourse about immigration and diversity.

Memory tip

Imagine a colorful mosaic: each tile is a different culture, together forming a beautiful, diverse whole.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"multi- (many) + cultura (cultivation, culture)"

multicultural societymulticultural educationmulticultural environmentmulticultural communitymulticultural approach

Common misspellings

multi-culturalmulticulturel

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written