oc·ci·den·tal
ˌäk-sə-ˈden-tᵊl 
often capitalized
1
: of, relating to, or situated in the Occident : western
2
: of or relating to Occidentals
occidentally
adverb
: a member of one of the occidental peoples
especially
: a person of European ancestry
Examples of occidental in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2023
Whenever Chinese interests were represented in some important conference or a Chinese was in difficulty in some misunderstanding of occidental customs, Tom played a helpful role.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2022
Its bad guys are clearly the sadistic British imperialists, easily read as occidental occupiers who must be overthrown as well as stand-ins for a host of other IRL colonial powers on other continents, in other centuries.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2022
So what happened to those occidental Celts in those four hundred years?
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 7 Mar. 2019
Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024
Born in 1960, Rubin was a graduate of Occidental College.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 10 May 2024
The Trump campaign, Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 9 May 2024
Pete, as he was known, attended a military academy in San Marino, graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1945, joined the Navy and attended Occidental College and the California Institute of Technology under a Navy program.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 8 May 2024
After graduating as valedictorian from South Pasadena High School in 1945, McCloskey attended Occidental College and California Institute of Technology.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 8 May 2024
Encampments remain in full swing at California campuses, including UC Irvine, Occidental College, Sacramento State, San Francisco State and others.
—Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
In addition to tech CEOs, the board includes the CEOs of Delta Air Lines, defense contractor Northrop Grumman and oil producer Occidental Petroleum, as well as Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and the leaders of two civil rights organizations.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Shares of Marathon Petroleum have climbed 43%, Exxon Mobil shares have added 22%, Occidental Petroleum shares have gained 16% and Halliburton shares have jumped 13%.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Is there a more terrifying, fascinating, weirdly appealing time in the occidental imagination than the Middle Ages?
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2023
Whenever Chinese interests were represented in some important conference or a Chinese was in difficulty in some misunderstanding of occidental customs, Tom played a helpful role.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2022
Its bad guys are clearly the sadistic British imperialists, easily read as occidental occupiers who must be overthrown as well as stand-ins for a host of other IRL colonial powers on other continents, in other centuries.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2022
So what happened to those occidental Celts in those four hundred years?
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 7 Mar. 2019
Noun
At Occidental College, a pro-Palestinian encampment came down Friday after an agreement was signed that said the college’s board of trustees would vote by June 6 on whether to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
—Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024
Born in 1960, Rubin was a graduate of Occidental College.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 10 May 2024
The Trump campaign, Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 9 May 2024
Pete, as he was known, attended a military academy in San Marino, graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1945, joined the Navy and attended Occidental College and the California Institute of Technology under a Navy program.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 8 May 2024
After graduating as valedictorian from South Pasadena High School in 1945, McCloskey attended Occidental College and California Institute of Technology.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 8 May 2024
Encampments remain in full swing at California campuses, including UC Irvine, Occidental College, Sacramento State, San Francisco State and others.
—Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
In addition to tech CEOs, the board includes the CEOs of Delta Air Lines, defense contractor Northrop Grumman and oil producer Occidental Petroleum, as well as Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and the leaders of two civil rights organizations.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Shares of Marathon Petroleum have climbed 43%, Exxon Mobil shares have added 22%, Occidental Petroleum shares have gained 16% and Halliburton shares have jumped 13%.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'occidental.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near occidental
Cite this Entry
“Occidental.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occidental. Accessed 20 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
occidental
1 of 2 adjective
oc·ci·den·tal
ˌäk-sə-ˈdent-ᵊl
often capitalized
1
: of, relating to, or located in the Occident : western
2
: of or relating to Occidentals
Occidental
2 of 2 noun
: a person of European ancestry
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share