List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 251

SYNONYMS: nation, state, commonwealth, country, land, people, race, folk.
These nouns have in common referring to people bonding in unity.

Nation primarily signifies a political body rather than a physical territory---the citizens united under one independent government, without close regard for their origins; secondarily it denotes institutional ties, a community of economic and cultural interests.
State even more specifically indicates political (governmental) organization, generally on a sovereign basis and pertaining to a well-defined area.
Commonwealth is also used in a variety of political senses; to a much lesser degree it retains an earlier sense of union based on mutual interests.
Country, in strict usage, is a geographic term signifying the territory of one nation, but is often used in the extended sense of nation.
Land specifically, is a somewhat less precise geographical term for an area inhabited by one people, but not necessarily a single political unit.
People, in this context, signify a group united over a long period by common cultural and social ties, although not necessarily by racial and national bonds.
Race refers to those recognizable physical traits, stemming from common ancestry, that succeeding generations have in common.
Folk, somewhat narrower then people, has specific reference to distinctive cultural characteristics of long standing