Israeli

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ɪˈzreɪli/ 🇺🇸 /ˌɪˈzreɪliː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A native or inhabitant of Israel, or a person of Israeli descent.
  2. adjective
    Of or relating to Israel, its people, or its culture.
  3. noun
    A citizen of the State of Israel, regardless of ethnic or religious background.
  4. adjective
    Relating to the government, military, or political affairs of the State of Israel.
  5. noun
    A member of the ancient Israelites; a descendant of Jacob (Israel). (Archaic/biblical usage, though 'Israelite' is more common in this sense.)

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: Israelis

Collocations

Israeli governmentIsraeli militaryIsraeli settlementIsraeli citizenIsraeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli cuisine

Derivatives

IsraelIsraeliteIsraelism

Commonly confused

Israelite
EN: 'Israelite' refers to the ancient biblical people of Israel, while 'Israeli' refers to a modern citizen or national of the State of Israel.
Hebrew
EN: 'Hebrew' primarily refers to the language or ancient people, while 'Israeli' refers to modern nationality regardless of ethnicity or language.
Jewish
EN: 'Jewish' denotes religious or ethnic identity, while 'Israeli' denotes nationality; not all Israelis are Jewish and not all Jewish people are Israeli.

Spelling tips

EN: Always capitalize 'Israeli' as it is a proper adjective/noun derived from a country name. Do not confuse with 'Israelite' (ancient) or 'Isreali' (common misspelling with transposed letters).

💬 Examples

  1. The Israeli won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

  2. Israeli cuisine features dishes like falafel and hummus.

  3. Not every Israeli is Jewish; the country has a significant Arab minority.

  4. The Israeli government announced new infrastructure investments.

  5. In some older texts, 'Israeli' was used interchangeably with 'Israelite' to refer to the ancient people.