idiolect

Definition of idiolectnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of idiolect In this way, the Delta method captures features that vary according to their authors’ idiolects. Karolina Rudnicka, Scientific American, 9 July 2025 Attackers can mimic the distinct idiolect of the target. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 18 Nov. 2023 Butler appears to have picked up Elvis’s idiolect, Howell says. Erica Sweeney, Men's Health, 8 Feb. 2023 Sherif’s music exists in the space between autobiographical and his own idiolect. Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 3 June 2022 And then there’s his inborn ear for every shade of human babble, here a transcendent four-hander, there a screwball travelogue, everywhere argot and idiolect and argument. New York Times, 23 Apr. 2020 His writing conveys an extraordinary ear for accent, rhythm, and idiolect. Maya Jasanoff, The New Republic, 22 Aug. 2019 Kathleen is relentlessly animated and quick-witted, with thick tangerine hair, steely eyes, and an endearing personal idiolect that suggests both an autodidactic reading in philosophy and economics and the gusty crudity of the merchant marine. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, WIRED, 18 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiolect
Noun
  • The name Ca’ Riviera is derived from the Venetian dialect.
    Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 7 May 2026
  • The pronunciation is part of an American dialect that is losing steam, linguists told NPR.
    Ava Berger, NPR, 6 May 2026
Noun
  • The Western musical tradition is mostly sidelined in favor of kuduro, gqom, batida, and sounds too free of familiar musical idioms to be easily categorized.
    Will Lynch, Pitchfork, 11 May 2026
  • While the work’s English title might indicate a sense of amusement or distraction, the Chinese title is an idiom that refers to being caught in a dilemma, like a boat that has left one shore but has not yet reached the other.
    Pauline J. Yao, Artforum, 2 May 2026
Noun
  • His advice was simple, wrapped in the self-improvement argot of our times.
    Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The filles, mostly from larger cities, arrived with their own urban argots.
    Ann Foster, JSTOR Daily, 9 July 2025
Noun
  • How did the name Go-Go being used as slang for parties come about?
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 11 May 2026
  • The home was dubbed Snowman in honor of Bryan’s late brother, Chris, who earned the nickname from the golf slang for a score of eight on an individual hole.
    Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 16 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Real Miami-Dade officers, often occupying background roles, interacted in character during those stretches as well, sustaining the casual banter and shared patois of a working unit.
    JP Mangalindan, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
  • 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
Noun
  • Industry jargon that’s divorced from the way kids actually talk about books is more evidence of the disconnection between children and the people who make books for them.
    Mac Barnett, Longreads, 5 May 2026
  • Together with the challenging sequences of medical procedures and biology jargon, the crowd and pace can be overwhelming.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Industry vernacular distinguishes the conventional mortgage as qualified mortgage, or QM.
    Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 7 May 2026
  • Speaking in Ormond Beach, DeSantis took aim at Jeffries’ recent warnings to Florida Republicans over redistricting, appearing to use African-American vernacular to imitate the Brooklyn lawmaker, who in 2023 became the first Black politician to lead a major party in Congress.
    Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The Space Force has inked contracts with emerging space companies—non-traditional primes, in military contracting parlance—to buy services, manufacture satellites and payloads, and launch rockets.
    Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
  • The decision singled out these compounders, which are known as 503B facilities in regulatory parlance, after growing controversy over their role in making weight loss treatments available over the past few years.
    Ed Silverman, STAT, 30 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Idiolect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiolect. Accessed 16 May. 2026.

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