dialect

noun

di·a·lect ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt

often attributive

Synonyms of dialect next

linguistics

: a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language

the Doric dialect of ancient Greek

a dialect of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong

: one of two or more cognate (see cognate entry 1 sense 3a) languages

French and Italian are Romance dialects

: a variety of a language used by the members of a group

such dialects as politics and advertising—

Philip Howard

: a variety of language whose identity is fixed by a factor other than geography (such as social class)

spoke a rough peasant dialect

: register sense 4c

: a version of a computer programming language

: manner or means of expressing oneself : phraseology

dialectal

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tᵊl

adjective

dialectally

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tə-lē

adverb

Example Sentences

They speak a southern dialect of French. The author uses dialect in his writing. The play was hard to understand when the characters spoke in dialect.

Recent Examples on the Web Howells’ praise of Dunbar’s use of dialect limited the poet’s ability to sell his other styles of writing. —

Minnita Daniel-cox, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Mar. 2023 Speech is also influenced by your regional dialect or ethnolect, which refers to the distinctive speech of specific groups of people. —

Erica Sweeney, Men's Health, 8 Feb. 2023 Her most famous book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, reflected the lyricism of the Black dialect and this literary technique became her signature. —

Rosalind Cummings-yeates, House Beautiful, 30 Jan. 2023 The city has its own dialect, currency, and courts, and differs culturally in many ways from mainland China. —

Quartz, 21 Dec. 2022 The exotic pièce de résistance comes from the Italo-Dalmatian dialect used in the song’s lyrics — immediate teleportation to cocktail hour on a deserted island. —

Spin Staff, SPIN, 16 Dec. 2022 Arokoyo is dedicated to documenting and reviving Nigerian languages such as Olùkùmi and Owé (a dialect of Yorùbá). —

Anna Luisa Daigneault, Discover Magazine, 2 June 2021 Garcia first knew marigolds as yej kua — their name in the Zapotec dialect of his native San Francisco Yateé, a village high up in the Sierra de Juarez. —

Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2022 The tiny village is home to around 200 villagers who speak an ancient and unusual dialect of Bavarian origin called Cimbro (or Cimbrian,) which was brought over by medieval settlers. —

Silvia Marchetti, CNN, 8 Sep. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dialect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.