multilingual

adjective

mul·​ti·​lin·​gual ˌməl-tē-ˈliŋ-gwəl How to pronounce multilingual (audio)
-ˈliŋ-gyə-wəl
-ˌtī-
1
: of, having, or expressed in several languages
a multilingual sign
multilingual dictionaries
2
: using or able to use several languages especially with equal fluency
multilingual translators
multilingualism
ˌməl-tē-ˈliŋ-gwə-ˌli-zəm How to pronounce multilingual (audio)
-gyə-wə-
-ˌtī-
noun
multilingually
ˌməl-tē-ˈliŋ-gwə-lē How to pronounce multilingual (audio)
-gyə-wə-lē
-ˌtī-
adverb

Did you know?

The roots of multilingual come from Latin. If you happen to prefer Greek, use the synonym polyglot, in which poly- has the same meaning as multi-, and -glot means the same thing as -lingual. The best way to become multilingual is probably to be born in a bilingual (two-language) household; learning those first two seems to give the mind the kind of exercise that makes later language-learning easy.

Examples of multilingual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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And in schools, the number of multilingual learners, which was the only population increasing each year in Connecticut public schools, fell for the first time in decades this school year. Sasha Allen, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026 Public health agencies have launched multilingual warnings, including radio ads, flyers, and PSAs in several languages, urging residents to avoid consuming wild mushrooms. Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 16 May 2026 The public health response was aggressive, 318 household surveys, nine field operations, multilingual outreach. John Drake, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026 And about 60% of families residing in Niles Township are multilingual, with the most common languages spoken in their homes besides English being Urdu, Spanish, Assyrian and Arabic. Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for multilingual

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of multilingual was in 1838

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Cite this Entry

“Multilingual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multilingual. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

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