as in colloquial
used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing
a refreshingly unbookish talk on how dictionaries get made
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Recent Examples of unbookish
His parents, Evan Sr. and Elton, were members in good standing of the stolid upper middle class, active in community affairs, anti-intellectual and unbookish.
—
Marc Weingarten, WSJ, 7 Jan. 2022
Marc Weingarten, WSJ, 7 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unbookish
Adjective
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Their language — marked by rich, tactile detail and a colloquial urgency — has quietly shaped how generations of songwriters articulate devotion.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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Although tabloid journalism tends not to focus on issues with broad socioeconomic impact, when these issues are covered audiences may relate to them more easily because they are discussed in colloquial, accessible language.—
Shepherd Mpofu,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The sound of motorbikes and cars fade as birds take over with their harmonies all around Nai Lert’s Thai vernacular style all-teak vacation home, built in 1915.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
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This pattern blends the storytelling rhythm of the Persian mas̄navī (narrative poem written in rhyming couplets) with vernacular Hindi verse forms.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In the early 1980s, Murphy and a few associates ran an informal back channel between the United States and the Soviet Union.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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For households where one member frequently travels or serves in demanding roles, the app offers a way to pass along knowledge that might otherwise remain informal.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unbookish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unbookish. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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