Thesaurus results for PATOIS

patois

noun

ˈpa-ˌtwä

Definition of patois

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 patois That’s for sure when people speak patois, a vernacular version of English that’s based on a culture’s intonation. — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 4 June 2026 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

Its traditional dialect, Brusselian, was the only language that was neither just Germanic nor just Romance, but both Germanic and Romance.

— Benjamin Moser, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2026
Owner and chef Stefania Marchesini, who fished professionally herself for 11 years, pays a premium to local fishermen, especially for soft-shell crabs known in the local dialect as moeche.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of dialect

Noun

While the terminology can vary based on a deal’s parameters, naming rights, title and presenting sponsorships are present in three of Europe’s Big Five soccer leagues.

— Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2026
That requires someone who can teach those ideas and terminologies to players who learn in different ways and at different speeds.

— David Aldridge, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of terminology

Noun

Children often don’t have the vocabulary to name a fear directly or the confidence that a topic is safe to raise.

— Anahi Collado, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
Skin barrier talk has moved from dermatology offices into TikTok routines and product marketing, and the vocabulary is starting to change how people buy skincare.

— Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of vocabulary

Noun

Whole lives are neatly bound in tidy language, conveyed within the confines of a page or two.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
So early this year, Henderson's doctors, evaluating his tumor's deep genetic language, turned to a drug made by Merck and AstraZeneca called Lynparza.

— Arthur Allen, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of language

Noun

McCaffrey and the 49ers will return to the United States after their win and lesson in Australian slang to play the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.

— Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026
The script itself is filled with the language of its time and place, including Berliner gutter slang and high-society clichés, casino speech and capitalist jargon, spoken Yiddish and literary German.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026