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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in colloquialism
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Recent Examples of colloquial
Tom Smyth, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The colloquial term Paczki Day is used for Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras.
—Jelissa Burns, Freep.com, 6 Jan. 2026
In this context, something as small and lightweight as a pair of earrings could serve as the colloquial glue that united people under one national identity, at a moment in history when destabilization and separation were the modi operandi of a country sharing a border with Ukraine.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 30 Dec. 2025
The rest of the book is spent expanding on these maxims one by one, in her colloquial, easy style, with references to classic psychological studies, her own research and her own experiences.
—Lamorna Ash, The Dial, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colloquial
Adjective
This time around, our Traitors and Faithfuls are a beautiful assortment of Housewives, Survivors, athletes, actors, and plenty of mothers — both literal (Donna Kelce) and in the colloquial sense (Porsha Williams).
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The colloquial term Paczki Day is used for Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras.
—Jelissa Burns, Freep.com, 6 Jan. 2026
In this context, something as small and lightweight as a pair of earrings could serve as the colloquial glue that united people under one national identity, at a moment in history when destabilization and separation were the modi operandi of a country sharing a border with Ukraine.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 30 Dec. 2025
The rest of the book is spent expanding on these maxims one by one, in her colloquial, easy style, with references to classic psychological studies, her own research and her own experiences.
—Lamorna Ash, The Dial, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colloquial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colloquial
Adjective
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Translated into many vernacular languages, the poetry and philosophy of Firdausi, Attar, Rumi, Hafez, Sa‘di, Nizami, Ibn Sina, and Nizam al-Mulk assumed a canonical authority across Asia.—
Pankaj Mishra,
The New York Review of Books,
13 Mar. 2026
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Language, Chandler protests, lives and flourishes in bent rules, vernacular expressions—the unruly stuff of life.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Their conversational dance is intricate and fascinating.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2026
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Gartner predicts that by 2028 conversational assistants will resolve 70% of customer-service journeys, handling tasks such as triage, routing and issue resolution.—
Michelle Taite,
Harvard Business Review,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The exhibit’s title is derived from a Spanish colloquialism.—
Uwa Ede-Osifo,
Dallas Morning News,
13 Feb. 2026
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Her vetting crusades have brought about a new Washington colloquialism.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Crain requested an informal report on data centers from city staff on Monday, March 23.—
Emily Holshouser,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Mar. 2026
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By the end of production, Simmonds was running informal signing tests with the rest of the cast on set during breaks.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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There’s a familiar rhetorical pattern to retirement announcements by most members of Congress.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
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Veo would take over that month, offering the familiar standing scooters now used, along with seated scooters, two-person scooters, cargo bikes and trikes.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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If the assignment is to translate something from a foreign language, there are plenty of tools and resources that can do it for you, including by recognizing and figuratively translating idioms.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
25 Mar. 2026
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The centuries-old pot-kettle idiom points out hypocrisy — as when one person accuses another of a flaw that afflicts himself.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The podcast aesthetic—casual, long-winded, sometimes profane—directly opposes, perhaps not coincidentally, the sterility and bizarre right-this-minute quality of cable news, on which everything seems incomplete and therefore manipulative, and yet somehow endless.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2026
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The result is a smaller but more engaged core market — one that is spending more per household even as casual participation declines.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In military parlance, this usually translates to one attack on a specific target that might involve multiple weapons.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
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In baseball parlance, Naylor looked runnerish.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colloquial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colloquial. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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