as in neologism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 loanword
In fact, Mandarin itself used thousands of loanwords from Japanese and English when new disciplines such as sociology and natural science entered China’s curricula a mere century ago.
—
Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023
During this period, more than 10,000 loanwords from French entered the English language, mostly in domains where the aristocracy held sway: the arts, military, medicine, law and religion.
—Phillip M. Carter, Fortune Well, 12 June 2023
Most English loanwords borrow from languages that, like English, use the Latin alphabet.
—Sarah Bunin Benor, The Conversation, 21 May 2020
With the mega-success of Starbucks and its various coffee competitors, BARISTA has transformed from a somewhat niche Italian loanword to a term most everyone not only knows but uses regularly.
—Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2019
And so the language planners, led by linguist Ari Páll Kristinsson, are working furiously to match every English word or concept with an Icelandic one—giving young Icelanders no excuse for depending on loanwords learned online.
—Caitlin Hu, Quartz, 2 June 2019
Each provided loanwords, words adopted from a donor language without translation.
—Courtney Linder, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Apr. 2018
Local journalists describe the scenes here as the local telenovela, a Spanish loanword meaning soap opera.
—Joseph Hincks / Manila, Time, 27 Oct. 2017
Sadly, these words failed to stick, and nowadays one is forced to answer wrong numbers on a loanword: tilifun.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2017
Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023
During this period, more than 10,000 loanwords from French entered the English language, mostly in domains where the aristocracy held sway: the arts, military, medicine, law and religion.
—Phillip M. Carter, Fortune Well, 12 June 2023
Most English loanwords borrow from languages that, like English, use the Latin alphabet.
—Sarah Bunin Benor, The Conversation, 21 May 2020
With the mega-success of Starbucks and its various coffee competitors, BARISTA has transformed from a somewhat niche Italian loanword to a term most everyone not only knows but uses regularly.
—Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2019
And so the language planners, led by linguist Ari Páll Kristinsson, are working furiously to match every English word or concept with an Icelandic one—giving young Icelanders no excuse for depending on loanwords learned online.
—Caitlin Hu, Quartz, 2 June 2019
Each provided loanwords, words adopted from a donor language without translation.
—Courtney Linder, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Apr. 2018
Local journalists describe the scenes here as the local telenovela, a Spanish loanword meaning soap opera.
—Joseph Hincks / Manila, Time, 27 Oct. 2017
Sadly, these words failed to stick, and nowadays one is forced to answer wrong numbers on a loanword: tilifun.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loanword
Noun
-
In interviews, Twigs disbursed the meanings behind her neologism, her philosophy.—
Doreen St. Félix,
The New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2025
-
Perhaps that’s why we’ve been bombarded with so many neologisms to describe mind states, like brain rot, or Eusexua.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Kraft noted that the coin's obverse was identical to the 1806 British coinage, while the reverse was unique to the Bahamas.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Other coinage acts throughout the years raised the gold-silver ratio, and the average ratio throughout the 20th century was closer to 47:1.—
Victor Rosario,
Sacramento Bee,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
You would be forgiven for assuming this a playful colloquialism, perhaps revealing a tenderness to the hunt.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Black communities are usually at the creative vanguard, from Renaissance art movements to fashion and even colloquialisms.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
After sixteen months of watching a genocide happen in real time—with more-or-less total support from Western governments, despite the euphemisms and justifications skillfully woven by headlines and political speeches—the contradiction is becoming harder to ignore.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Finally, liquid bat guano and liquid earthworm castings (guano and castings are euphemisms for excrement) are also utilized for foliar fertilization.—
Joshua Siskin,
Orange County Register,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Narrator Mary Lewis, raised in Newfoundland herself, delivers the book in a manner that seems stilted at first but grows more appealing as Lewis moves further into the story, with its pleasing archaisms and evocation of balked communication.—
Katherine A. Powers,
Washington Post,
21 Jan. 2020
-
That phrase, which may strike some young American ears as an archaism if not an oxymoron, is worth unpacking, and Amis provides readers with a pocket account of the historical preconditions of his extravagant fame.—
A.O. SCOTT,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2018
Noun
-
Canucks need to suck up a bit of short term pain for long term gain.—
Thomas Drance,
The Athletic,
5 Mar. 2025
-
The use of federal prisons to house detainees was what Trump also relied on in his first term in office.—
Chiara Eisner,
NPR,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
His unique blend of modernism, spirituality and human scale has inspired fervent devotion and in recent years attracted high profile interventions by international artists.—
Kim Córdova,
New York Times,
25 Feb. 2025
-
And sure enough, as soon as the social and political priorities of architectural modernism abated, and designers could again express their interest in form, Mannerism was primed for prime time.—
Mario Carpo,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Loanword.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loanword. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share