southwestern

adjective

south·​west·​ern sau̇(th)-ˈwe-stərn How to pronounce southwestern (audio)
1
: lying toward or coming from the southwest
2
often capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of a region conventionally designated Southwest
southwesternmost adjective

Examples of southwestern in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Weather Service office in Blacksburg, Va., said that despite diminishing winds Thursday, the combination of low relative humidity, northwesterly winds and dry fuels would again make for ideal fire weather across southwestern Virginia and southeastern West Virginia through the evening. Remy Tumin, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 Nicknamed Rose Bridget Dugdale was born March 25, 1941, on the family’s Devon estate in southwestern England. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 He was detained after a clerk at a gas station in southwestern Albuquerque reported seeing a man who matched Smith’s description, Sheriff John Allen said at a brief news conference Sunday. Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024 The line would have three times the capacity of existing high-voltage lines, including a controversial 345-kilovolt Cardinal-Hickory Creek line in southwestern Wisconsin. Karl Ebert, Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2024 Some of the new solar farms generating electricity for polysilicon production are in two provinces in southwestern China, Qinghai and Yunnan. Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 An acre-foot is roughly 326,000 gallons, and is enough to supply three or more southwestern households for a year. Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 The National Weather Service in Amarillo said early today that snow or rain, or a mixture of the two, was due to hit the southwestern Texas Panhandle between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. local time. Nigel Chiwaya, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024 When the weather gets cold, some scorpions, such as the bark scorpion (also endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico), will nest and hibernate in large groups to conserve warmth. Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'southwestern.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English sūth-westerne, from sūth south + westerne western

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of southwestern was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near southwestern

Cite this Entry

“Southwestern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/southwestern. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

southwestern

adjective
south·​west·​ern sau̇(th)-ˈwes-tərn How to pronounce southwestern (audio)
1
: lying toward or coming from the southwest
2
often capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of the Southwest

More from Merriam-Webster on southwestern

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