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
Our data shows that 18 of the past 24 winners sang entirely in the language of Shakespeare, with two others using English alongside their national tongue.
—
Miriam Quick, New York Times, 15 May 2025
The soft green shade is also seen on the shoe’s liner, heel and tongue branding and translucent outsole.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 14 May 2025
Chung then described the physical toll that her tongue cancer has taken on her.
—Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 9 May 2025
How To Use Flower Essences Flower essences are usually taken as drops under the tongue or in a glass of water, 2–4 drops, four times a day.
—Felicity Carter, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Miriam Quick, New York Times, 15 May 2025
The soft green shade is also seen on the shoe’s liner, heel and tongue branding and translucent outsole.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 14 May 2025
Chung then described the physical toll that her tongue cancer has taken on her.
—Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 9 May 2025
How To Use Flower Essences Flower essences are usually taken as drops under the tongue or in a glass of water, 2–4 drops, four times a day.
—Felicity Carter, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue
Noun
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The razor-sharp dialogue is rapid-fire, and proper delivery requires a keen understanding of the nature and nuance of language.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2025
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But a 2017 study found that even infants can distinguish between words in different languages.—
Leslie Garisto Pfaff,
Parents,
15 May 2025
Noun
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The worst insults in his vocabulary, however, remain G-rated.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
8 May 2025
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With pan dulce baking in the oven and music in the air, this bilingual song introduces little ones to the joy of cooking with loved ones, family traditions, and beginner Spanish vocabulary.—
Fiona Tapp,
Parents,
8 May 2025
Noun
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Many learners struggle with deciding whether to focus on MSA or a regional dialect, which impacts their ability to communicate effectively in real-world scenarios.—
Geoffrey Alphonso,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
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Koine Greek—the dialect of the New Testament—was then the lingua franca of the eastern-Mediterranean world, although, of course, familiarity with it ranged from erudite scholarship to learning a few words for the sake of haggling in the marketplace.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Noun
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But the nature of all idioms is that their meaning cannot be deduced from their components; the phrase kicked the bucket does not put the English speaker in the mind of an actual bucket, just as the word death does not remind him terribly of the letter D.—
Andrea Long Chu,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
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Best known as a savvy drummer deeply versed in a broad swath of pre-World War II idioms like ragtime, Delta blues, and swing, Devine is at home surrounded by the artifacts and ephemera that captured the sounds and spirit of that era.—
Andrew Gilbert,
Mercury News,
1 May 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 22 May. 2025.
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