Meanings
northwestern1
comparative more northwestern · superlative most northwestern · alternative Commonwealth UK north-western
- Of or pertaining to the northwest; from or to in such a direction.
Brittany is located in northwestern France.
- Blowing from that direction.
plural northwesterns · alternative Commonwealth UK north-western
- A film or other dramatic work set primarily in the late 19th or early 20th century in the northwest of North America.
His most recent novels, published as Five Star Westerns, have been Northwesterns: […]
1998, Jon Tuska, Stories of the Far North, page 64
Northwestern2
- not comparableOf or relating to any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie.
- USnot comparableOf or relating to the northwestern region of the contiguous United States, including the Pacific Northwest.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivesituated in or oriented toward the northwest
adjectiveof a region of the United States generally including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and sometimes Montana, Wyoming
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
northwestern · adjective, noun
- Old English*norþwesterne
- Englishnorthwestern
Probably the reflex of Old English *norþwesterne, equivalent to north + western, cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Low German nōrtwestern and Old High German nordwestrōni. Compare earlier northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern.
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Northwestern · adjective
By surface analysis, equally (1) Northwest + -ern or (2) a proprialization from northwestern.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan nord-occidental
- nord-occidentalTranslations
Chinese Mandarin 西北的
- 西北的 (xīběi de)Translations
Czech severozápadní
- severozápadníTranslations
Esperanto nordokcidenta
- nordokcidentaTranslations
Finnish luoteinen
- luoteinenTranslations
French nord-occidental, du nord-ouest
- nord-occidentalTranslations
- du nord-ouestTranslations
German nordwestlich
- nordwestlichTranslations
Greek βορειοδυτικός
- βορειοδυτικός (voreiodytikós)Translations
Hindi उत्तरपश्चिमी
- उत्तरपश्चिमी (uttarpaścimī)Translations
Hungarian északnyugati
- északnyugatiTranslations
Irish siar ó thuaidh
- siar ó thuaidhTranslations
Italian nordoccidentale
- nordoccidentaleTranslations
Japanese 北西の, 西北の
- 北西の (hokusei no)Translations
- 西北の (seihoku no)Translations
Korean 서북의, 북서의
- 서북의 (seobug-ui)Translations
- 북서의 (bukseo-ui)Translations
Māori ki te marangai-mā-uru
- ki te marangai-mā-uruTranslations
Polish północno-zachodni
- północno-zachodniTranslations
Portuguese noroeste
- noroesteTranslations
Romanian de nord-vest, nordvestic
- de nord-vestTranslations
- nordvesticTranslations
Russian се́веро-за́падный
- се́веро-за́падный (sévero-západnyj)Translations
Spanish del noroeste, al nordeste
- del noroesteTranslations
- al nordesteTranslations
- noroccidentalTranslations
- nordoccidentalTranslations
- noroestalTranslations
- nordoestalTranslations
Turkish kuzeybatı
- kuzeybatıTranslations
Cite this entry
northwestern. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/northwestern
“northwestern.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/northwestern. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “northwestern,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/northwestern.
Source: northwestern on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.