as in dialect
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field
the medical patois that the hospital staffers used among themselves was incomprehensible to me
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patois
Elliott spits her verses in patois, freeing up space on the track for the drums to get some before Cartel and M.I.A. slide through.
41.
—
Steven J. Horowitz, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
And so there’s West Indian patois and language and music and food.
—Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
There are countless examples like these, in which English scaffolding has adapted to the demands and the cultural heritage of its speakers, from Jamaican patois to Tok Pisin, of New Guinea.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Instead, viewers are immersed in Millie’s Kingston, with dialogue spoken almost entirely in Jamaican patois, where opportunities are limited, gang violence persists and whiteness is still put on a pedestal.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 25 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for patois
Steven J. Horowitz, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
And so there’s West Indian patois and language and music and food.
—Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
There are countless examples like these, in which English scaffolding has adapted to the demands and the cultural heritage of its speakers, from Jamaican patois to Tok Pisin, of New Guinea.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Instead, viewers are immersed in Millie’s Kingston, with dialogue spoken almost entirely in Jamaican patois, where opportunities are limited, gang violence persists and whiteness is still put on a pedestal.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 25 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for patois
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patois
Noun
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It is written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style, rather like someone reluctantly dredging up their memories, with random thoughts interrupting the narrative, long sentences sometimes running to over a page, little punctuation, and peppered with Kobe dialect.—
Ginny Tapley Takemori
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
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The Cajun dialect is a very particular one.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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While terminology changes and treatment advances are promising, experts note that broader systemic and societal changes could make the biggest difference.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
10 Sep. 2025
-
To use modern terminology, Michell was talking about the concept of escape velocity, which can be explained by means of a simple experiment.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Hiromu Yakura, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, noticed differences in his own vocabulary about a year after ChatGPT debuted in late 2022.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Babbel isn’t like those free apps that flood you with random vocabulary.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The expansion will also include more language support, with plans to increase access to consulting and capital assistance in Spanish and Marshallese, according to an organization news release.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Sep. 2025
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There is no time limit on how long such consultations could take, and experts say the language is flexible enough to allow each member to decide how far to go in responding to armed aggression against another.—
Matt Spetalnick,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But there’s a whole lot of other slang spoken around here.—
Wendy Wisner,
Parents,
8 Sep. 2025
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But first, the deeper history and roots of certain slang terms A number of phrases that are labeled as Gen Z lingo or internet slang today are derived from Black and drag cultures.—
Mia Thurow,
jsonline.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Patois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patois. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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