colloquial

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adjective col·lo·qui·al \ kə-ˈlō-kwē-əl \

Definition of colloquial

1 :of or relating to conversation :conversational

colloquial expressions

2 a :used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation

In colloquial English, "kind of" is often used for "somewhat" or "rather."

; also :unacceptably informal

b :using conversational style

a colloquial writer

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colloquial

noun

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colloquiality

play \kə-ˌlō-kwē-ˈa-lə-tē\ noun

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colloquially

play \kə-ˈlō-kwē-ə-lē\ adverb

See colloquial defined for English-language learners

See colloquial defined for kids

colloquial was our Word of the Day on 08/26/2011. Hear the podcast!

Examples of colloquial in a Sentence

But I think part of this pickle that we're in—if I may be colloquial, even though I'm not running for office—is that we've lost their sense of responsibility. —Sarah Vowell, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2008
Langston was the merriest and the most colloquial of them all. "Best party I've ever been given!" he said. —Gwendolyn Brooks, Booklist, 15 Oct. 1993
Mr. Salisbury's firsthand account is written in a fast-paced, chaotic and colloquial style, which often feels confused and hastily set down. —Susan Shapiro, New York Times Book Review, 10 Sept. 1989
Although in the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved with safety, he took a free share in conversation, his colloquial talents were not above mediocrity, possessing neither copiousness of ideas, nor fluency of words. —Thomas Jefferson, letter, 2 Jan. 1814
the new coworker's rudeness soon began—to use a colloquial expression—to rub me the wrong way
a colloquial essay on what makes a marriage successful

Recent Examples of colloquial from the Web

Sadly, though, the colloquial moniker—once used jokingly—is starting to ring a little too true lately.

— scott christian, Esquire, "This Wildly Popular Haircut Has a Serious Neo-Nazi Problem," 15 Aug. 2017
Of course, prayer can take many forms: Ritual, petitionary, colloquial and meditative, among others.

— thomas burnett, idahostatesman, "Frustrated with your spouse? Prayer might help, researchers say," 11 Aug. 2017
Traditional tracking services aren’t always that quick to recognize and account for colloquial phrases, Clanagan said.

— jordyn holman, Bloomberg.com, "Hollywood Faces the Growing Box Office Power of Black Audiences," 26 July 2017
Bottom surgery: A colloquial way of referring to gender affirming genital surgery.

— alia e. dastagir, USA TODAY, "LGBTQ definitions every good ally should know," 15 June 2017
Top surgery: Colloquial way of describing gender affirming surgery on the chest.

— alia e. dastagir, USA TODAY, "LGBTQ definitions every good ally should know," 15 June 2017
With a major in German and a minor in art history, Betty could read and write German well, and through newspapers brought to class by a professor, was skilled at colloquial German.

— jennifer conn, akron reporter, cleveland.com, "Dedicated conservationist, artist, writer Betty Seiberling dies at 96," 31 May 2017
And the score remains one of the best that Charles Strouse and Lee Adams ever composed, with tuneful but colloquial songs that smoothly fit amid dialogue while still expressing deeper emotions.

— theodore p. mahne, NOLA.com, "Rivertown's cheerful 'Bye Bye Birdie' will put a happy face on audiences," 8 May 2017
There had always been some writing in colloquial Egyptian, and a number of intellectuals advocated for expanding this practice.

— peter hessler, The New Yorker, "Learning Arabic from Egypt’s Revolution," 7 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colloquial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The noun colloquy was first used in English to refer to a conversation or dialogue, and when the adjective colloquial was formed from colloquy it had a similar focus. Over time, however, colloquial developed a more specific meaning related to language that is most suited to informal conversation - and it ultimately garnered an additional, disparaging implication of a style that seems too informal for a situation. Colloquy and colloquial trace back to the Latin verb colloqui, meaning "to converse." Colloqui in turn was formed by combining the prefix com- and loqui, "to speak." Other conversational descendants of loqui in English include "circumlocution," eloquent, loquacious, soliloquy, and ventriloquism.