as in dialect
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field
the medical patois that the hospital staffers used among themselves was incomprehensible to me
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patois
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
And so there’s West Indian patois and language and music and food.
—
Vanessa Franko,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2025
There are countless examples like these, in which English scaffolding has adapted to the demands and the cultural heritage of its speakers, from Jamaican patois to Tok Pisin, of New Guinea.
—
Manvir Singh,
The New Yorker,
23 Dec. 2024
Instead, viewers are immersed in Millie’s Kingston, with dialogue spoken almost entirely in Jamaican patois, where opportunities are limited, gang violence persists and whiteness is still put on a pedestal.
—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
25 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for patois
Steven J. Horowitz,
Vulture,
11 Apr. 2025
And so there’s West Indian patois and language and music and food.
—
Vanessa Franko,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2025
There are countless examples like these, in which English scaffolding has adapted to the demands and the cultural heritage of its speakers, from Jamaican patois to Tok Pisin, of New Guinea.
—
Manvir Singh,
The New Yorker,
23 Dec. 2024
Instead, viewers are immersed in Millie’s Kingston, with dialogue spoken almost entirely in Jamaican patois, where opportunities are limited, gang violence persists and whiteness is still put on a pedestal.
—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
25 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for patois
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patois
Noun
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In our day, before there was the interweb, 30 to 40 interviews a week, promoting stuff back-to-back-to-back in all dialects and languages.
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Like every precocious rising star fluent in the dialect of bluster, Wembanyama talked big, too.
Noun
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Learning about their industry and its terminology would be a huge task for me.
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Every major technology shift creates terminology confusion.
Noun
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Operational Infrastructure The market is slowly finding a more honest vocabulary for what AI models actually are.
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Using data collected over years of painstaking observation, Elie discovered 11 core calls that make up the zebra finch vocabulary, such as calls for distress, hunger and saying hello.
Noun
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AIs can communicate with us using our language.
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Mamdani, proud of his socialist values, had developed a language for communicating a collective, interdependent vision of city life through his consistent emphasis on affordability.
Noun
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Benoit delights in language as much as her heroine, weaving Regency-era slang throughout and appending a chapter-by-chapter glossary of vulgarities.
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How did the name Go-Go being used as slang for parties come about?
Cite this Entry
“Patois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patois. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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