Sentinelese

From Sentinel +‎ -ese.

• IPA^(key): /ˌsɛntɪnəˈliːz/
• Rhymes: -iːz

Sentinelese (plural Sentineleses or Sentinelese)

1. (chiefly in the plural) A member of an indigenous people of the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal. They inhabit North Sentinel Island.
   • 2025 April 4, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, “US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 14 April 2025:

     Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made the illegal voyage to North Sentinel Island, home to the enigmatic Sentinelese tribe, on March 29, Indian police told CNN.

As with other terms for people formed with -ese, the countable singular noun in reference to a person (as in "I am a Sentinelese", "writing about Sentinelese cuisine as a Sentinelese") is now uncommon and often taken as grammatically incorrect. In its place, the adjective is used, by itself (as in "I am Sentinelese") or before a noun like person, man, or woman ("writing about Sentinelese cuisine as a Sentinelese person"). See also -ish, which is similarly only primarily used as an adjective or as a plural noun.

Sentinelese

1. The language of these people, unknown but presumed to belong to one of the Andamanese language families.