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Recent Examples of loanword
Which brings us to the ménage à trois — for some things, only a French loanword will do — between Hayley, Yasmin, and Henry, which exists at the opposite end of the boundary-setting spectrum.
—
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 26 Jan. 2026
For instance, people, a French loanword, may be spelled peple, pepill, poeple, or poepul.
—Big Think, 10 Apr. 2025
The newest dictionary additions include loanwords from Southeast Asia, South Africa and Ireland.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2025
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
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 26 Jan. 2026
For instance, people, a French loanword, may be spelled peple, pepill, poeple, or poepul.
—Big Think, 10 Apr. 2025
The newest dictionary additions include loanwords from Southeast Asia, South Africa and Ireland.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loanword
Noun
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Are these neologisms diagnosing modern phenomena or illuminating preëxisting cultural realities?—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
2 Dec. 2025
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These neologisms weren’t just clever.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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People have been called pedants since the early modern period—pedante is a fifteenth-century Italian coinage for a professional teacher of Latin literature and rhetoric—but have been acting pedantically for millennia.—
Clare Bucknell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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Propagandi, in other words, isn’t just a clever coinage.—
Tim Requarth,
Longreads,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The exhibit’s title is derived from a Spanish colloquialism.—
Uwa Ede-Osifo,
Dallas Morning News,
13 Feb. 2026
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Ways to learn a new language Apps are a good way to learn the basics and proper pronunciation, but many colloquialisms, abbreviations and grammatically informal expressions used by fluent or native speakers aren’t taught on apps or in language classes.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Discussing why people use euphemisms online prepares children to pause and ask questions when unfamiliar terms appear.—
Sharlette A. Kellum,
The Conversation,
6 Apr. 2026
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When Oklahoma missed out on the NCAA Tournament, AD Roger Denny announced that coach Porter Moser was staying and offered up one of the great euphemisms of this era.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Last June, Hill was ordered to pay Bauer more than $300,000 for violating settlement terms.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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In terms of how the two PSG goalkeepers have fared this season, the data shows Safonov is outperforming Chevalier.—
Tom Burrows,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The property preserves a certain Bay Area idea of modernism rooted in landscape, not dominating it.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
28 Apr. 2026
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Kline curates works from 1850 to 1960–Kline curates works from 1850 to 1960–the end of the 19th century to the end of modernism.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Loanword.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loanword. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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