as in colloquial
used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing
writes essays in a very easy-to-read, vernacular style
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in idiom
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in binomial
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vernacular
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, text shorthand continues to overrun our vernacular.
—Scott Nover, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2024
Comparatively, while New Hampshire is quiet, with a small core group of practitioners working in regional vernaculars, Maine and Vermont boast a disproportionate number of architects—Elliott Architects and Birdseye among them—engaged in custom residential equal to that of the nation’s highest.
—Richard Olsen, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for vernacular
Adjective
Hammerstein and Kern, though, wanted to make something unprecedented: a musical with the weight of grand opera, but built out of the blocks of vernacular entertainment.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, text shorthand continues to overrun our vernacular.
—Scott Nover, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
Noun
While still young, he was drawn to the body and Black vernaculars of motion, ultimately creating a language that incorporated ballet, tap, and contemporary dance.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2024
Comparatively, while New Hampshire is quiet, with a small core group of practitioners working in regional vernaculars, Maine and Vermont boast a disproportionate number of architects—Elliott Architects and Birdseye among them—engaged in custom residential equal to that of the nation’s highest.
—Richard Olsen, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for vernacular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vernacular
Adjective
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What is a Green Beret? Green Beret is the colloquial name used for members of the U.S. Army Special Forces.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
USA TODAY,
2 Jan. 2025
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Purple group — colloquial suffixes (CORE, GATE, MANIA, PILLED) No perfect game, but that's nine wins in a row.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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While often used sarcastically to mock true believers, the idiom reflects Italy’s enduring ambiguity toward Fascism, even 80 years after its fall.—
Mattia Ferraresi,
airmail.news,
1 Feb. 2025
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Knowing the correct four-word idioms is a sign of education.—
Rachel Chang,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
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She is credited with naming and cataloging hundreds of native plants in the Hudson River Valley using Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus’ then-new binomial system of botanical nomenclature.—
Jessica Damiano,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Mar. 2024
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The watermelons grown in the United States were soon subsumed under the same Latin binomial.—
Alex Fox,
Smithsonian Magazine,
2 June 2021
Noun
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You would be forgiven for assuming this a playful colloquialism, perhaps revealing a tenderness to the hunt.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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Black communities are usually at the creative vanguard, from Renaissance art movements to fashion and even colloquialisms.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In truth, tri-fold is a misnomer since there are only two folds, but the three screens form a clever design that unfurls to a full 10.2 inches.—
Simon Hill,
WIRED,
5 Mar. 2025
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Encompassing two weekends, the event’s name is something of a misnomer.—
Hank Beckman,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In business parlance, intent could be reflected through transparently communicating the policies, systems and controls implemented for data privacy and ethics, and also by communicating any gaps and how they will be addressed.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
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The financial brokers who handle such trades have demanded that exporters hand over more cash toward settling up their losses — a margin call, in financial parlance.—
Peter S. Goodman,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Glyphosate, first sold by Monsanto in 1974 under the brand name Roundup, kills weeds by inhibiting an enzyme that is essential for plant growth.—
Knvul Sheikh,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2025
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Realist fiction should use real brand names, Wallace believed.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In its day the novel did not in fact seem to reflect a number of contemporary concerns—politics, regionalism, the search for equality and social justice—or to address historical realities.—
Rachel Cusk,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
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So my focus is on regionalism and international tax developments.—
Tax Notes Staff,
Forbes,
20 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Vernacular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vernacular. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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