VERNACULAR Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

vernacular 1 of 2

adjective

vər-ˈna-kyə-lər

Definition of vernacular

as in colloquial

used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing writes essays in a very easy-to-read, vernacular style

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

vernacular

2 of 2

noun

as in idiom

Related Words

as in binomial

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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 vernacular

Adjective

Compiled in 1964 by Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman, this four-LP, 83-track box set was intended as an accessible survey of the roots and branches of American vernacular music. — Ted Olson, The Conversation, 2 July 2026 Rote’s vernacular traditions shine through in the lontar-leaf roofs and ikat fabrics incorporated into pillows, beds, and artwork. — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2026

Noun

At the same time, on a remote mountain in New Zealand, a little girl was running similar experiments, sublimating the language of cartoons into a supple personal vernacular. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Although the vernacular of prog rock has been an important part of Mastodon’s sound for the past 20 years, the group’s adventurous soloing comes even more to the fore on Marrow Deep. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for vernacular

Recent Examples of Synonyms for vernacular

Adjective

The colloquial names are fun, but can be confusing, because there’s also a plant called brown-eyed Susan, which is different from the black-eyed Susan.

— Sheryl DeVore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026
Silent sleep apnea is a colloquial term for the form of the condition that occurs without the loud, disruptive snoring most people associate with it.

— Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of colloquial

Noun

The first Velvet Underground album, the mid-period Beatles, Kinks, and Creedence Clearwater Revival records, with enough time, seem almost like different components to the same idiom.

— Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Cinema is, after all, a language, and Belgian filmmakers come from a country built on the need to understand language as a bridge—between its regions, its people, and its idioms.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of idiom

Noun

Whatever its origin story, it might be argued that as the shortest binomial composed entirely of vowels, Ia io gives scientists reason enough to shout hurrah.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
She is credited with naming and cataloging hundreds of native plants in the Hudson River Valley using Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus’ then-new binomial system of botanical nomenclature.

— Jessica Damiano, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Mar. 2024

Definition of binomial

Noun

The common name pilot black snake is a misnomer, stemming from an old belief that the black rat snake led rattlesnakes and other snake species to favorable overwintering sites.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026
In addition, there are the findings of the Police Reform Organizing Project’s (PROP) Court Monitoring Project, a kind of misnomer since its work actually involves assessing NYPD arrest practices.

— Robert Gangi, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of misnomer

Noun

To borrow Mao’s parlance, Xi’s not ready yet for the strategic counter-offensive stage.

— Andy Browne, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
The Kremlin can present demonstrations of military power, even without a victory, as proof of Russian independence in international affairs—sovereignty, in Putin’s parlance.

— MICHAEL KIMMAGE, Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of parlance

Noun

By trading Spider-Man's open-world liberation for linear pacing and hollow hacking-and-slashing, Insomniac delivers a mid-tier action game wrapped in a premium brand name.

— Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026
The study was funded by Revolution Medicines, which will be selling daraxonrasib under the brand name Rasonque.

— Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of brand name

Noun

At the very least, regionalism marked a spatial recalibration in the literary imaginary, away from European metropoles and national capitals and toward rural hinterlands.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
The sport is defined by regionalism and spectacle, contradiction and chaos.

— Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of regionalism

Browse Nearby Words

vermin

vernacular

vernacularism

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“Vernacular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vernacular. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of vernacular

adjective

noun

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