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
That crisp pastry shell can really hold in the heat, and an abrupt puncture will send a geyser of steaming juice and melted cheese directly onto your tender tongue.
—
Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 10 Feb. 2026
Schein directs the show with tongue firmly planted in cheek, so there are many amusing sight gags (like an atrocious comb-over wig).
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The tip of his tongue was grazing her ear now, teasing it with dampness.
—Literary Hub, 9 Feb. 2026
What truths are already at the tip of your tongue?
—Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 10 Feb. 2026
Schein directs the show with tongue firmly planted in cheek, so there are many amusing sight gags (like an atrocious comb-over wig).
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The tip of his tongue was grazing her ear now, teasing it with dampness.
—Literary Hub, 9 Feb. 2026
What truths are already at the tip of your tongue?
—Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue
Noun
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Brittany is joined by Emily Kwong, co-host of NPR’s science podcast Short Wave, to explore why putting your brain through learning a new language offers surprising benefits and opportunities for connection.—
Brittany Luse,
NPR,
16 Feb. 2026
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Neither Wicks, nor any other legislator, has released legislative language yet aimed at supporting the industry.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Nate’s style, vocabulary and delivery are like no one else who has ever lived.—
Mac Engel
February 13,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Feb. 2026
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Francesca’s pinnacle Once a Regency world has implied there’s mass print culture capable of speedy and pervasive distribution of colored images, something as persnickety as vocabulary is probably beside the point.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Steven Gebelin, who represented Puig in 2021 and 2022, testified at trial that his then-client tried to be helpful during the interview but, because the interpreter’s Spanish dialect differed from Puig’s, his answers were translated poorly.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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Puig’s former attorney Steven Gebelin testified that during the January 2022 interview, Puig tried to be helpful in answering the investigators’ questions and the interpreter struggled with Puig’s Spanish dialect, according to the New York Times.—
Jaimie Ding,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Those books introduced me to a vision of American teenage life and taught me the rhythms and idioms of American English, nuances that would later replace my Britishisms and shape my career as a journalist.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Next to the particularities of place—the Midwest, the South—or enmeshed with it, are the particularities of language, of idiom, and ways of saying.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
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 18 Feb. 2026.
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