tongues

noun

plural of tongue
as in languages
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

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 tongues The human tongues were immediately loosened by AI’s boldness and began correcting, nuancing, and leveling up the detail. — Literary Hub, 22 July 2026 From the moment any combination of sugar, fat, dairy and/or dough first touched our tongues, we were hooked. — Isidoro Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 The animals were killed for their hides and their tongues, a culinary delicacy, but also as part of the campaign to ethnically cleanse Native Americans from the land. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 20 July 2026 The Texas players kicked our bats, yelled at our girls, stuck their tongues out, threw the ball in the air after every inning and on and on. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026 The measure added soluble coffee, certain palm oil derivatives and frozen cattle tongues to the product scope. — Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 16 July 2026 Though the Colonel had many enemies, the violence of his death shocks the sleepy village and starts the tongues of the local gossips wagging. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 15 July 2026 The sides went back and forth, trading songs in their native tongues, and friendly taunts in English. — Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 6 July 2026 By flicking their tongues, snakes can detect the scent trails left by potential prey, such as rodents or birds, and accurately track and capture them even in the dark or in complex environments. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongues
  1. languages
  2. vocabularies
  3. dialects
  4. idioms
Noun
  • Xavi speaks six languages and has lived in some of the world’s most iconic cities.
    — Jay Harris, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Diversity also emerges as a key strength, with the World Cup showcasing a rich tapestry of cultures and languages, a value 80% of organizations still champion.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of languages
Noun
  • This gap can help explain why some children’s vocabularies grow so much faster than others.
    — Michelle Kearney, The Conversation, 7 July 2026
  • Do the formal vocabularies that are supposed to encode my field actually capture how the people in it think?
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of vocabularies
Noun
  • Korea and China just demonstrated, in their very different dialects, that friction can be deliberately put back.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • In India, the book Why Tibet Matters has been translated into 15 local dialects to galvanize solidarity among the host community.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 July 2026
Definition of dialects
Noun
  • On the one hand, the translation serves as a source for the idioms of nineteenth-century English; on the other, as evidence of the ideas that the translator held about a Colombian woman writer.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
  • The film’s look is inspired by ink wash paintings and wood blocks, moving fluidly between different visual idioms.
    — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 1 July 2026
Definition of idioms

Browse Nearby Words

tongueless
tongues
tongue-tied
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Cite this Entry

“Tongues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongues. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of tongues for Spanish Speakers

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