go native
Embrace local ways
Go native is to adopt the customs, dress, or lifestyle of a local population—originally said of colonizers or expatriates who abandoned European ways for indigenous ones, often with disapproval.
Now used more broadly and lightly: After six months in Tokyo, she'd gone completely native.
The phrase can also describe abandoning professional objectivity: a journalist who goes native loses critical distance from their subject.
Modify for new conditions
- acculturateAdopt another group's practices
- integrateCombine into unified whole
- immersePlunge into liquid entirely
- adoptTake as one's own
acclimate · fit in · absorb · blend in · embrace · localize · habituate · accustom
Profound biological restructuring
- conversionAct of changing states
- reinventionComplete self-transformation
- shiftMovement or work period
- changeoverComplete shift between systems
turning point · transformation · lifestyle change · new chapter · shedding · rebirth · becoming · departure
Citizen living abroad
- abroadIn foreign territory
- overseasIn foreign countries
- emigrateLeave for another country
- foreignerNon-native person
relocation · sojourner · traveler · backpacker · wanderer · settler · transplant · outsider
Social group sharing ancestry
- aboriginalIndigenous to a place
- localOf this area
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- traditionalFollowing long-held customs
ethnic · clan · customary · precolonial · autochthonous · endemic · kinship · land
Leave behind permanently
- rejectDismiss as unsuitable
- forsakeAbandon completely
- leave behindDepart without taking
- renounceFormally give up
shed · discard · spurn · turn back on · escape · break free · cast off · disconnect
adapt
Modify for new conditions
- acculturateAdopt another group's practices
- integrateCombine into unified whole
- immersePlunge into liquid entirely
adopt · acclimate · fit in · absorb · blend in · embrace · localize · habituate · accustom · settle in
metamorphosis
Profound biological restructuring
- conversionAct of changing states
- reinventionComplete self-transformation
- shiftMovement or work period
changeover · turning point · transformation · lifestyle change · new chapter · shedding · rebirth · becoming · departure
expat
Citizen living abroad
foreigner · relocation · sojourner · traveler · backpacker · wanderer · settler · transplant · outsider · newcomer
tribe
Social group sharing ancestry
- aboriginalIndigenous to a place
- localOf this area
- ancestralOf one's forebears
traditional · ethnic · clan · customary · precolonial · autochthonous · endemic · kinship · land · territory
abandon
Leave behind permanently
- rejectDismiss as unsuitable
- forsakeAbandon completely
- leave behindDepart without taking
renounce · shed · discard · spurn · turn back on · escape · break free · cast off · disconnect · detach