African American
Other spellings
[change]Pronunciation
[change]Expression
[change]Expression |
- An African American is an American person with African or Black ancestry.
- Barack Obama was the first African American President of the United States.
Synonyms
[change]- black
- person of color
- (old, no longer used) Afro-American
- (old, no longer used) colored
- (very offensive) darky
- (old, no longer used) Negro
- (very offensive) nigger
Related words
[change]Usage notes
[change]- African American is a somewhat formal phrase, and often seen as a politically correct way to say "black person".
- Other than "black person" and "person of color", most other synonyms are no longer used, and are likely to be considered offensive.