expatriate
noun /ˌeksˈpætriət/
/ˌeksˈpeɪtriət/
(also informal expat
/ˈekspæt/
/ˈekspæt/
)- a person living in a country that is not their own
- American expatriates in Paris
- My family lived as expatriates in Hong Kong before I was born.
Synonyms immigrantimmigrant- migrant
- refugee
- asylum seeker
- expatriate
- immigrant a person who has either chosen or been forced to leave their country and come to live permanently in a country that is not their own:
- immigrants from other European countries
- migrant a person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions:
- The country has a large seasonal migrant population.
- refugee a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons:
- There has been a steady flow of refugees from the war zone.
- asylum seeker a person who has been forced to leave their own country because they are in danger and who arrives in another country asking to be allowed to stay there:
- to provide accommodation and support for asylum seekers
- expatriate a person living in a country that is not their own, usually by choice:
- American expatriates in Paris
- illegal/undocumented immigrants/migrants
- economic/skilled migrants
- political refugees
Word Originmid 18th cent. (as a verb): from medieval Latin expatriat- ‘gone out from one's country’, from the verb expatriare, from ex- ‘out’ + patria ‘native country’.