colloquialismnoun [ C ]
uk/kəˈləʊ.kwi.ə.lɪ.zəm/us/kəˈloʊ.kwi.ə.lɪ.zəm/an informal word or expression that is more suitable for use in speech than in writing
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Forms of languages & specialist dialects
- acrolect
- argot
- basilect
- cant
- creole
- lingo
- lingua franca
- metalanguage
- newspeak
- non-standard
- officialese
- oral
- pidgin
- plain English
- rhyming slang
- slang
- slangy
- speak
- telegramese
- tongue
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Examples from literature
- A colloquialism in very frequent use.
- Bill mixed slang, the colloquialisms of the frontier, and the terminology of modern scientific thought with quaint impartiality.
- Examine the vocabulary for naturalness, colloquialism, and extraordinary occasional fitness of words.
- It has passed out of the stage of mere slang to become a "colloquialism."
- This is a colloquialism that should be avoided.