as in language
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
he spoke in a tongue that I didn't understand
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Recent Examples of tongue
Many rank-and-file enlistees were also recent immigrants, and patriot regiments hummed with a cacophony of different tongues, accents, and dialects throughout the war.
—
Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
The system also recognizes the parts of the brain that control the lips, jaw, tongue, and larynx.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Most Lamborghinis are named after fighting bulls; only one is named after an exclamation that’s a borderline swear word in its native tongue.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2025
The sketch concluded with the librarian licking Moynihan's face with a forked tongue and then unbuttoning her blouse — causing all of the boys' heads to explode.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
The system also recognizes the parts of the brain that control the lips, jaw, tongue, and larynx.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Most Lamborghinis are named after fighting bulls; only one is named after an exclamation that’s a borderline swear word in its native tongue.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2025
The sketch concluded with the librarian licking Moynihan's face with a forked tongue and then unbuttoning her blouse — causing all of the boys' heads to explode.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue
Noun
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In a similar vein, Timnit Gebru, a computer scientist writing during her time working at Google, warned of the dangers of large language models acting as stochastic parrots, which repeat language patterns without understanding, and in doing so replicate the biases embedded in their training data.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
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The dust-up stems back to the Spanish singer’s recent appearance on the New York Times’ Popcast, where she was asked about singing in about 13 different languages one her new album Lux and the challenges of communicating with a global audience.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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That knowledge includes minute details about the princesses’ different personalities, hand gestures, vocabulary and voices.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
11 Nov. 2025
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But, at the same time, in adopting the vocabulary of modernism, Rauschenberg took on a language that his heart didn’t speak.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Many rank-and-file enlistees were also recent immigrants, and patriot regiments hummed with a cacophony of different tongues, accents, and dialects throughout the war.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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To embody the Like a Rolling Stone singer, the actor trained extensively, including five years of preparation, to learn to sing as well as play guitar and harmonica, and to work with dialect and movement coaches to make his performance feel authentic.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Though the idiom of abuse has changed, the critics are as hostile as ever, while their targets react only with curious torpor.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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Music unites the interconnecting stories in this saga and expands its passions, with a sumptuous score by composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens that taps into a wide range of American styles, idioms and amalgams, even as the second act turns more dissonant.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Video
An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
Cite this Entry
“Tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
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