as in neologism
Related Words
Relevance
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 loanword
Which brings us to the ménage à trois — for some things, only a French loanword will do — between Hayley, Yasmin, and Henry, which exists at the opposite end of the boundary-setting spectrum.
—
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 26 Jan. 2026
For instance, people, a French loanword, may be spelled peple, pepill, poeple, or poepul.
—Big Think, 10 Apr. 2025
The newest dictionary additions include loanwords from Southeast Asia, South Africa and Ireland.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2025
In fact, Mandarin itself used thousands of loanwords from Japanese and English when new disciplines such as sociology and natural science entered China’s curricula a mere century ago.
—Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023
During this period, more than 10,000 loanwords from French entered the English language, mostly in domains where the aristocracy held sway: the arts, military, medicine, law and religion.
—Phillip M. Carter, Fortune Well, 12 June 2023
Most English loanwords borrow from languages that, like English, use the Latin alphabet.
—Sarah Bunin Benor, The Conversation, 21 May 2020
With the mega-success of Starbucks and its various coffee competitors, BARISTA has transformed from a somewhat niche Italian loanword to a term most everyone not only knows but uses regularly.
—Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2019
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 26 Jan. 2026
For instance, people, a French loanword, may be spelled peple, pepill, poeple, or poepul.
—Big Think, 10 Apr. 2025
The newest dictionary additions include loanwords from Southeast Asia, South Africa and Ireland.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2025
In fact, Mandarin itself used thousands of loanwords from Japanese and English when new disciplines such as sociology and natural science entered China’s curricula a mere century ago.
—Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023
During this period, more than 10,000 loanwords from French entered the English language, mostly in domains where the aristocracy held sway: the arts, military, medicine, law and religion.
—Phillip M. Carter, Fortune Well, 12 June 2023
Most English loanwords borrow from languages that, like English, use the Latin alphabet.
—Sarah Bunin Benor, The Conversation, 21 May 2020
With the mega-success of Starbucks and its various coffee competitors, BARISTA has transformed from a somewhat niche Italian loanword to a term most everyone not only knows but uses regularly.
—Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loanword
Noun
-
Are these neologisms diagnosing modern phenomena or illuminating preëxisting cultural realities?—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
2 Dec. 2025
-
These neologisms weren’t just clever.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Her liberty cap bears stars and stripes, at once a symbol of our burgeoning Nation and a reference to early American coinage.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
14 Mar. 2026
-
This book is a deeply scholarly, policy-relevant history of money, from the advent of coinage, paper currency, and bank money in ancient, medieval, and early modern times to the stablecoins and central bank digital currencies of today and tomorrow.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The exhibit’s title is derived from a Spanish colloquialism.—
Uwa Ede-Osifo,
Dallas Morning News,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Her vetting crusades have brought about a new Washington colloquialism.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Discussing why people use euphemisms online prepares children to pause and ask questions when unfamiliar terms appear.—
Sharlette A. Kellum,
The Conversation,
6 Apr. 2026
-
When Oklahoma missed out on the NCAA Tournament, AD Roger Denny announced that coach Porter Moser was staying and offered up one of the great euphemisms of this era.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Jewish believers have had to come to terms with the inarguable truth that the story of the Hebrew enslavement, flight, and deliverance from Egypt is almost entirely mythical.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The breakdown in talks now putting the fragile temporary two-week truce agreed upon late Tuesday to the test, with differences in those agreed upon terms emerging throughout the week.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Emerging in the late ’60s and hitting its stride by the ’80s, postmodernism is defined as a reaction against that less-is-more, strict-type of modernism that came from Europe.—
Jerald “Coop” Cooper,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Later, criticism also came from arbiters of high modernism, such as Clement Greenberg, who wrote off New Deal art as kitsch for the masses.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Loanword.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loanword. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
