1
as in tongues
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
Great Britain, the United States, Australia, and other countries where English is the dominant language
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in dialects
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field
"love" means "nothing" in the language of tennis
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in dictions
the way in which something is put into words
we're finding the language of the legal documents to be tough going
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of languages
The team hails from all over the world—Taiwan, Myanmar, France, among others—and can assist in several languages.
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2026
And in my own case, that meaning has been a reminder — unwelcome but reliable — of my origins, and of the need to find the right fit when crossing between languages, so that the ache in one finds its answering throb in another.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
This year, Nikhil requested a spelling tutor and devoted hours each day to studying word etymologies, languages of origin and specific word sets.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026
Since its publication, it has been translated into multiple languages, including English.
—Julia Gomez, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
Voice of America, which has transmitted news coverage to countries around the world since its formation during World War II, is operating with a skeleton staff in only a handful of languages.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Previously exams could be given in other languages.
—Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2026
Your Babbel lifetime subscription includes access to 14 languages, like French, Spanish, German, and Italian.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 7 Mar. 2026
The website, Navegante, is available in both English and Spanish and helps users find nearby schools that offer bilingual support in Spanish and Indigenous languages.
—Erick Trevino, AZCentral.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2026
And in my own case, that meaning has been a reminder — unwelcome but reliable — of my origins, and of the need to find the right fit when crossing between languages, so that the ache in one finds its answering throb in another.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
This year, Nikhil requested a spelling tutor and devoted hours each day to studying word etymologies, languages of origin and specific word sets.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026
Since its publication, it has been translated into multiple languages, including English.
—Julia Gomez, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
Voice of America, which has transmitted news coverage to countries around the world since its formation during World War II, is operating with a skeleton staff in only a handful of languages.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Previously exams could be given in other languages.
—Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2026
Your Babbel lifetime subscription includes access to 14 languages, like French, Spanish, German, and Italian.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 7 Mar. 2026
The website, Navegante, is available in both English and Spanish and helps users find nearby schools that offer bilingual support in Spanish and Indigenous languages.
—Erick Trevino, AZCentral.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languages
Noun
-
The scene also shows a table covered in tongues, implying the women removed Lupino’s tongue.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
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And so the buffalo were butchered and sold for their tongues and hides, and their bones were ground and used for fine china.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but the Kurdish population has diverse religious, cultural, social and political traditions, as well as a variety of dialects of the Kurdish language.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
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How could food from India’s 23 states — with multitudinous subregions and over a thousand dialects — ever be distilled into the generic naan, dal, butter chicken, dosa and sambar?—
Kalpana Mohan,
Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The first three were post-dictions of inflation; the latter four were predictions that had not yet been observed when they were made.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the October 2025 study that followed families over time, children who spent more time with digital media at age 2 tended to have smaller vocabularies at age 3, regardless of the child’s temperament or the caregiver’s personality traits.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
2 Mar. 2026
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Teams were asked to learn new interfaces, adopt new vocabularies, and take responsibility for outputs whose behavior remained probabilistic rather than deterministic.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Tackle a range of skin concerns with skin-friendly formulations from ELEMIS.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
In cases where people have ingested glyphosate, formulations containing surfactant have resulted in more severe symptoms.—
Michal Ruprecht,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Those books introduced me to a vision of American teenage life and taught me the rhythms and idioms of American English, nuances that would later replace my Britishisms and shape my career as a journalist.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Like fellow North Carolinians Wednesday and MJ Lenderman—local stars descended from the likes of Lucinda Williams and Drive-By Truckers—Dowdy carves complex new visions into the idioms of his upbringing.—
Jenn Pelly,
Time,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Languages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languages. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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