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Definition of nara
nara
/ˈnɑːrə/
na · ra
Plural:naras
nara Lexical Profile
CEFR
C1
Grade
10
Tier
2
Usage
Rare
Syllables
2
• noun
1
A historic city in the Kansai region of south-central Honshu, Japan, serving as the capital of Nara Prefecture and formerly as Japan's first permanent imperial capital in the eighth century.
2
South African A leafless, spiny desert shrub of the gourd family (Acanthosicyos horridus), native to the coastal sand dunes of the Namib Desert in southwestern Africa.
3
South African The large, round, spiny fruit and protein-rich seeds produced by the nara shrub, harvested as a traditional staple food by indigenous peoples of the Namib Desert.
Example
"The local community harvests the ripe nara in late summer and dries the pulp and seeds for storage."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for nara• Rhymes for nara
• Nearby Words
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Nara. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/nara