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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Patrick also has his own researcher, so the cast members all had access to this dropbox full of stuff, including incredible academic studies of John Gacy’s speech pattern and word choice and syntax use, and a breakdown of the Chicago dialect and his Polish background.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
18 Oct. 2025
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On Thursday evening, Welsh read from his new book Men in Love, which is written in the Edinburgh dialect.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Last year, Jimmy didn’t even know any defensive terminology.—
Jon Conahan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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The guidelines contain specific terminology and targets for calories and nutrients that guide federal food aid for mothers and infants, free school lunches and what's served at military bases and in federal prisons.—
Will Stone,
NPR,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There's also critical thinking, vocabulary, and knowledge that books offer students.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
9 Oct. 2025
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Experts at Scholastic say such books help kids gain the vocabulary to describe their feelings, improve self-awareness, and learn strategies for handling negative emotions.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The series has hit the Netflix Top 10 in all 93 countries that the company measures; Season 4 was the first-ever English-language series to cross 1 billion hours streamed on the platform, and continues to be the streamer’s third-most-popular English-language TV title.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
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Befitting of JJJJound’s minimalist, premium design language, each pair is light on flair, letting the Speedcat’s iconic silhouette and high-quality materials do the heavy lifting here.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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What other slang does Gen Alpha use?—
Mariyam Muhammad,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
8 Oct. 2025
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Parents and educators need to learn language used online Online teens often use slang, symbols and slogans that adults may not understand to refer to white supremacy, antisemitism and mass shootings.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Patois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patois. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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