1
as in vernacular
used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing
the new coworker's rudeness soon began—to use a colloquial expression—to rub me the wrong way
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in conversational
having the style and content of everyday conversation
a colloquial essay on what makes a marriage successful
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as in colloquialism
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of colloquial
Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
Today’s Connections groups are... Yellow group — baffle Green group — curse
Blue group — Toy Story characters, familiarly
Purple group — colloquial suffixes
What Are Today’s Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert!
—Kris Holt, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Ortiz helped Clark use colloquial Spanish, so some of the songs use slang most commonly used in Mexico.
—Tasha Tsiaperas, Axios, 3 Dec. 2024
There was good and evil in the world—not in the colloquial sense but in the literal, supernatural sense.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for colloquial 
Adjective
While Birnbaum’s playful take on Murakami’s prose established the hip, colloquial style the author is still mostly known for today, his translation of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World cut about 100 pages from the Japanese text.
—Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
Today’s Connections groups are... Yellow group — baffle Green group — curse
Blue group — Toy Story characters, familiarly
Purple group — colloquial suffixes
What Are Today’s Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert!
—Kris Holt, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Ortiz helped Clark use colloquial Spanish, so some of the songs use slang most commonly used in Mexico.
—Tasha Tsiaperas, Axios, 3 Dec. 2024
There was good and evil in the world—not in the colloquial sense but in the literal, supernatural sense.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for colloquial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colloquial
Adjective
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Tennis is a difficult business; only a tiny sample size of its athletes achieve enough to become part of the vernacular.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
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Glass-block walls nod to the Big Apple vernacular while a mural by Shantell Martin invokes the local legacy of street art.—
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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There is even a colloquialism for those who curry favor among the moneyed on the island of Palm Beach.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
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It’s been a year of chaos and colloquialisms, as the internet shaped not only our vocabulary but our entire political system.—
Kate Lindsay,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Getting the right help to where it’s needed Every study of a large-scale disaster conducted by the Disaster Research Center has revealed some level of emergent, informal helping behavior.—
James Kendra,
The Conversation,
20 Jan. 2025
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Week In Review: Trump’s Cabinet Picks Is Our Favorite New Reality Show By Katherine Fung Senior Writer 0 For the first time in eight years—almost to the day—The Celebrity Apprentice will make an informal return to American audiences.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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And after one stop in Baltimore, that tour returns to its familiar home at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
19 Jan. 2025
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And as often as Onana has bailed his team-mates out this season, there have also been familiar errors, including his spill to gift Rutter Brighton’s third.—
Mark Critchley,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The Maze Runner actor sloughs off Roman’s moody persona, replacing that twin’s abrasive bluntness and struggle with idioms with the other’s quick wit and seductive charm.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Jan. 2025
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For instance, the grammar and translation method has been modernized to help students grasp complex concepts like abstract words, idioms and metaphors.—
Geoffrey Alphonso,
Forbes,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Columbia Women’s Ice Maiden II Boots Shopping for casual snow days?—
Genevieve Cepeda,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Jan. 2025
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Not as a character so much as a reference point in casual dialogue.—
Glynnis MacNicol,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But Dell is taking it further by also adding a bit of auto industry parlance with three sub-tiers: Base, Plus, and Premium.—
Antonio G. Di Benedetto,
The Verge,
6 Jan. 2025
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The word has been in medieval parlance for centuries.—
Tim Spiers,
The Athletic,
29 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But newsrooms are often gossipy places, and the letter leaked out on Wednesday, first to David Folkenflik of NPR.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN,
15 Jan. 2025
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In an attempt to hang loose with the gang at a PMF, you may be exposed to gossipy whispers about the foibles, secrets or annoying idiosyncrasies of fellow execs or co-workers.—
Dr. David Lenihan,
Forbes,
2 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near colloquial
Cite this Entry
“Colloquial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colloquial. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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