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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of languages
The Final Jeopardy question, which fell under the world languages category, asked for the alphabetically first and last of South Africa's 12 official languages.
—
Melina Khan, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
When there is no war on, the shelter functions as a community center, complete with a Filipino church, a refugee health clinic, and retailers catering to customers in more than a dozen languages.
—Theia Chatelle, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Located just minutes from Clarkston — often described as one of the most diverse square miles in the nation — the International Community School serves students from dozens of countries, with more than 100 languages spoken.
—Alexa Liacko, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
When Guevara Olivas finished her orientation speech last week on the 15th floor, the room was packed and humming with conversation in multiple languages.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
Another sound-meaning correspondence frequently noted is that certain sounds appear more often in basic word categories, like those associated with body parts, even across unrelated languages.
—Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
The event boasted screenings of the film in specific languages chosen by attendees, experiential stations with highlights including a stop where fans were able to moonwalk alongside Jaafar Jackson as Michael, or get a chance to be the star themselves at an immersive concert experience.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 21 Apr. 2026
That includes better alignment with specific artistic languages.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026
Melina Khan, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
When there is no war on, the shelter functions as a community center, complete with a Filipino church, a refugee health clinic, and retailers catering to customers in more than a dozen languages.
—Theia Chatelle, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Located just minutes from Clarkston — often described as one of the most diverse square miles in the nation — the International Community School serves students from dozens of countries, with more than 100 languages spoken.
—Alexa Liacko, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
When Guevara Olivas finished her orientation speech last week on the 15th floor, the room was packed and humming with conversation in multiple languages.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
Another sound-meaning correspondence frequently noted is that certain sounds appear more often in basic word categories, like those associated with body parts, even across unrelated languages.
—Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
The event boasted screenings of the film in specific languages chosen by attendees, experiential stations with highlights including a stop where fans were able to moonwalk alongside Jaafar Jackson as Michael, or get a chance to be the star themselves at an immersive concert experience.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 21 Apr. 2026
That includes better alignment with specific artistic languages.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languages
Noun
-
Houseflies find sugar with their feet, which are 10 million times more sensitive than human tongues.—
Julie Sharp,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Composer Paul has concocted a pastiche of songs forever on the edge of our memories if not our tongues.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The small cadre of community radio stations in coastal Bangladesh, using local dialects, provide an early-warning system against tsunamis, flooding, and cyclones.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The British colonial name of New Cut was different from other nearby creeks—Wadmalaw, Bohicket, Leadenwah, Stono—all named in Indigenous dialects.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Japanese sunscreen has always been the best; the lightest formulations, the silkiest textures, and some of the most affordable prices too.—
Anita Bhagwandas,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Though mineral sunscreens have a reputation for leaving a white cast, newer formulations offer sheerer alternatives.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
If the assignment is to translate something from a foreign language, there are plenty of tools and resources that can do it for you, including by recognizing and figuratively translating idioms.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
25 Mar. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Languages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languages. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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