tenant- resident- citizen- inhabitant- dweller

Question

Could you tell me what are the differences between these words? I've searched for definitions, but it seemed to me they were very the same. However, I also need cases when I could use not only one of these words.

Thank you for your help

Thethenothere123 · Accepted Answer

Tenant is always used (I think) with regards to a residency of some sort, particularly with people that rent it, rather than own it. So, a person that rents an apartment is a tenant of that apartment.

Resident is a much more general term that just denotes where a person lives. For example, a person can be a resident of New York state or a resident at a particular house. Occasionally, it can also have a legal meaning, in which someone lives in a country legally; in the U.S., this is a person with a "green card." Note that this word is only used with regard to humans.

A citizen is a person with legal/political status by which they are entitled to a certain set of rights and privileges in a particular place (usually a country). A person can be a legal resident of a country, but that does not necessarily make them a citizen.

Inhabitant and dweller mean essentially the same thing and are similar to resident in that they show where something lives (these can be used when referring to animals), but rather than showing specific location, they typically show the type of location. For example, "people that (inhabit/dwell in) cities and towns have many advantages compared to those that live in the country." Also, "the bat, which (inhabits/dwells in) dark caves, must use sound to navigate." In the noun form: "inhabitants of cities.../city and town dwellers..." and "an inhabitant of dark caves.../a dark cave dweller..." The use of these two words is broader than I've used it here, but I think I've highlighted the main distinction between inhabitant/dweller and resident.

I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.

Je_nie_dieu · Answer

Thank you very much. I've understood almost everything, except the definition of citizen. What kind of rights/privileges citizen may have? And could you give an example of resident, which is not a citizen.

Also, Is there any difference between inhabitant and dweller? There was one exercise in my book, where I had to choose the correct word. 6 words were given for 6 sentences, so I thought there must be at least one difference. I know the right answers:

The only inhabitant of the island were an old man and his two dogs. Widespread poverty in the Third World means that pavement-dweller are commom in many cities.

Maybe the point is structure? I mean I can't say pavement-inhabitant. I should say inhabitant of pavement. Am I right?

Thethenothere123 · Answer

In most countries, a person must be a citizen in order to vote in elections and also to own property in many countries. A person can still live in that country and not have those rights and in that instance is only a resident.

Inhabitant and dweller have very similar meanings and the only difference I can think of is that "inhabitant" can refer to specific groups in specific locations, while "dweller" refers to the type location (as was shown in your sentences):

dweller: usually in the form "location + dweller(s)"

Ex: cave dweller, city dweller, town dweller, lake dweller, etc.

inhabitant: usually in the form "inhabitant(s) of + location" or "location's inhabitants"

Ex: 1. The inhabitants of New York come from many different countries.
2. New York's inhabitants come from many different countries.

Also, the underlined word in the example sentences that you gave should be plural, so "inhabitants," and "pavement-dwellers."

If you still have questions, feel free to ask.

Je_nie_dieu · Answer

Thank You so much! You've helped me a lot.

Good luck

Kristina

Anonymous · Answer

Hello Kristina,
I was also interested in the little differences in the meanings between words like : inhabitant, dweller, denizen
( to me citizen and resident are clear in meanings and in french translation ) also as far as french translation these three words don't seem to have an exact translation, I know that two different words cannot have the same meaning and neither the same french translation unless a language is - weaker - than another... Thank you for answering me about dweller and denizen with their french translation if possible.

tenant- resident- citizen- inhabitant- dweller

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