1
as in tongues
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
Great Britain, the United States, Australia, and other countries where English is the dominant language
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in dialects
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field
"love" means "nothing" in the language of tennis
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in dictions
the way in which something is put into words
we're finding the language of the legal documents to be tough going
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of languages
These short-form, mobile-first series are designed for speed, shareability and cultural specificity, with local casts and languages forming the backbone of production.
—
Faye Bradley, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
The creator, who used a pseudonym, helpfully carved these guidelines on the stones in eight different languages.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Mar. 2026
The new project, arranged in four acts, was written in 13 languages and includes features from Björk, Yves Tumor, and Yahritza Y Su Esencia.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
Workers lined the streets surrounding the JBS plant, holding signs and chatting with their coworkers in dozens of different languages.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026
The book became a bestseller that was reprinted more than 20 times and translated into multiple languages.
—The Conversation, 16 Mar. 2026
This city of 700 languages is an atlas of options, with places to eat featuring cuisines from pretty much every corner of the world, with something to suit every budget.
—Wilder Davies, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Mar. 2026
The team hails from all over the world—Taiwan, Myanmar, France, among others—and can assist in several languages.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2026
And in my own case, that meaning has been a reminder — unwelcome but reliable — of my origins, and of the need to find the right fit when crossing between languages, so that the ache in one finds its answering throb in another.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
Faye Bradley, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
The creator, who used a pseudonym, helpfully carved these guidelines on the stones in eight different languages.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Mar. 2026
The new project, arranged in four acts, was written in 13 languages and includes features from Björk, Yves Tumor, and Yahritza Y Su Esencia.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
Workers lined the streets surrounding the JBS plant, holding signs and chatting with their coworkers in dozens of different languages.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026
The book became a bestseller that was reprinted more than 20 times and translated into multiple languages.
—The Conversation, 16 Mar. 2026
This city of 700 languages is an atlas of options, with places to eat featuring cuisines from pretty much every corner of the world, with something to suit every budget.
—Wilder Davies, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Mar. 2026
The team hails from all over the world—Taiwan, Myanmar, France, among others—and can assist in several languages.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2026
And in my own case, that meaning has been a reminder — unwelcome but reliable — of my origins, and of the need to find the right fit when crossing between languages, so that the ache in one finds its answering throb in another.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languages
Noun
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Zendaya kicked off Paris Fashion Week by sending tongues wagging in bridal white chic.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Mar. 2026
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The scene also shows a table covered in tongues, implying the women removed Lupino’s tongue.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Not between English and other languages but between the dialects spoken by different corners of the industry.—
Amber Nigam,
Harvard Business Review,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but the Kurdish population has diverse religious, cultural, social and political traditions, as well as a variety of dialects of the Kurdish language.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The first three were post-dictions of inflation; the latter four were predictions that had not yet been observed when they were made.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the October 2025 study that followed families over time, children who spent more time with digital media at age 2 tended to have smaller vocabularies at age 3, regardless of the child’s temperament or the caregiver’s personality traits.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
2 Mar. 2026
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Teams were asked to learn new interfaces, adopt new vocabularies, and take responsibility for outputs whose behavior remained probabilistic rather than deterministic.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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With cultural mainstays like rice extract and buzzy compounds like several types of hyaluronic acid, these formulations offer more than straightforward sun protection.—
Deanna Pai,
Vogue,
19 Mar. 2026
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Current formulations of the drug also persist in the bloodstream for long periods, which can have unintended consequences.—
Michal Ruprecht,
NPR,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Those books introduced me to a vision of American teenage life and taught me the rhythms and idioms of American English, nuances that would later replace my Britishisms and shape my career as a journalist.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Like fellow North Carolinians Wednesday and MJ Lenderman—local stars descended from the likes of Lucinda Williams and Drive-By Truckers—Dowdy carves complex new visions into the idioms of his upbringing.—
Jenn Pelly,
Time,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Languages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languages. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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