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
The offensive and defensive styles: as expected Throughout the spring, Glenn and his coordinators weren’t keen on defining what style of offense or defense the Jets will be running, but the players have had a harder time biting their tongues.
—
Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 30 July 2025
Some of her other rituals are less about inner work but outer health: Tracy Anderson Method workouts, tongue scraping, dry brushing, lymphatic body massages, and fascia facials.
—Jessica Cruel, SELF, 29 July 2025
On screen, pictures of Manatee with an alarming-looking bright green tongue pop up.
—Lauren Huff Published, EW.com, 25 July 2025
Pat Daniels — played by real-life sportscaster Dan Patrick — appears in the mid-credits scene to report that the Maxi golf league failed and that their sports drink was recalled after being found to cause halitosis, gingivitis and tongue rot.
—Skyler Trepel, People.com, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 30 July 2025
Some of her other rituals are less about inner work but outer health: Tracy Anderson Method workouts, tongue scraping, dry brushing, lymphatic body massages, and fascia facials.
—Jessica Cruel, SELF, 29 July 2025
On screen, pictures of Manatee with an alarming-looking bright green tongue pop up.
—Lauren Huff Published, EW.com, 25 July 2025
Pat Daniels — played by real-life sportscaster Dan Patrick — appears in the mid-credits scene to report that the Maxi golf league failed and that their sports drink was recalled after being found to cause halitosis, gingivitis and tongue rot.
—Skyler Trepel, People.com, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue
Noun
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The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
The possibilities which animate my stories live right there in the language of seventeenth-century laws.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The cataclysmic effect of her unexpected arrival suggests that soon her vocabulary will expand to include more such ominous language.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
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Your specific tone, vocabulary and messaging frameworks—the elements that make your content distinctly yours—can easily get lost.—
Cheryl Ragland,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Pat picked up Spanish and the local dialect of the region.—
Nell Salzman,
Chicago Tribune,
31 July 2025
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Such expressions of moral clarity are rare, though, in an age of confusion and endlessly contested facts that has been harnessed by the Netanyahu government, which speaks a fluent dialect of the MAGA language of politics.—
Ian Crouch,
New Yorker,
28 July 2025
Noun
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He had been raised on some of the similar idioms and great nuances of English and Irish folk music.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
16 July 2025
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Even something as silly as that hockey idiom challenge couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm for long.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
6 June 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 Aug. 2025.
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