as in languages
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
although the anthropologist could speak the local language fairly well, she was always glad to find someone who shared her mother tongue
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mother tongues
Work with people of different ages, backgrounds, perspectives, and mother tongues.
—
Rachel Konrad, Time, 9 Dec. 2025
Each actress nails the comedic timing – and the accented English that flows with the cadence of their mother tongues.
—Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Nov. 2025
Rachel Konrad, Time, 9 Dec. 2025
Each actress nails the comedic timing – and the accented English that flows with the cadence of their mother tongues.
—Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongues
Noun
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Taiwan was also the first traceable point of the passing of the many Austronesian languages, said Victoria Chen, a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.—
Wayne Chang,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
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If things seemed a little pricey at the concession stands, there were some bonding moments that fans of all languages could appreciate — especially those familiar with American football.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
Noun
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The Moxley case has effectively been told three times across three different American vocabularies.—
Kate Casey,
Vanity Fair,
2 June 2026
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By the end of the learning unit, Burton said growth in the children could be seen as their vocabularies expanded to using words such as thermometer, blood pressure and punctured.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The xenophobic law meant that Yiddish-speaking Jews and Italians seeking to vote could be required to recite and write passages from the state Constitution, regardless of their level of education in their native tongues or whether their conduct as new Americans was exemplary.—
Robert Polner,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
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Almost all of them speak in tongues additional to their native ones.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Noun
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Language is often a reflection of the culture that shapes it, impacting tone, idioms, dialects and even silence across regions.—
Ryan Kolln,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
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Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms.—
Steve Baltin,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2026
Noun
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It is also being distributed internationally and has been translated into French, Spanish, German and three Greenlandic dialects.—
Tarini Mehta,
Sacbee.com,
9 June 2026
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Language is often a reflection of the culture that shapes it, impacting tone, idioms, dialects and even silence across regions.—
Ryan Kolln,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongues. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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