Colloquial
adjective
Used in ordinary or everyday conversation, not formal or literary.
They spoke in a colloquial style that was easy to understand.
Often appears as...
- colloquial language
- colloquial expression
adjective
Used in ordinary or everyday conversation, not formal or literary.
They spoke in a colloquial style that was easy to understand.
Often appears as...
- colloquial language
- colloquial expression
Definition 1 of 1
Pro Tip 1/3Everyday Speech
Colloquial terms are often region-specific, used in casual chat.
The colloquialisms he used revealed he was from Texas.
Pro Tip 2/3Not for Formal Use
Avoid colloquial language in formal writing or speeches, like essays or presentations.
His colloquial wording was frowned upon in the academic paper.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Nuances
Colloquialisms can carry meanings unique to a culture that may not translate well.
Her colloquial jokes didn't make sense to the foreign audience.
Pro Tip 1/3Everyday Speech
Colloquial terms are often region-specific, used in casual chat.
The colloquialisms he used revealed he was from Texas.
Pro Tip 2/3Not for Formal Use
Avoid colloquial language in formal writing or speeches, like essays or presentations.
His colloquial wording was frowned upon in the academic paper.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Nuances
Colloquialisms can carry meanings unique to a culture that may not translate well.
Her colloquial jokes didn't make sense to the foreign audience.
Pro Tip 1/3Everyday Speech
Colloquial terms are often region-specific, used in casual chat.
The colloquialisms he used revealed he was from Texas.
Pro Tip 2/3Not for Formal Use
Avoid colloquial language in formal writing or speeches, like essays or presentations.
His colloquial wording was frowned upon in the academic paper.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Nuances
Colloquialisms can carry meanings unique to a culture that may not translate well.
Her colloquial jokes didn't make sense to the foreign audience.
Compare with
commonplaceconversationaldialecteverydayidiomaticformalwearslangyvernacular
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Video examples
Anil Seth: How your...
Just as there are many different aspects of selfhood, there are many different kinds of memory, too. I think colloquially, in everyday language, when we talk about memory, we often talk about autobiographical memory or episodic memory,
Video examples
The philosophy of...
Today, we colloquially use the word stoic to mean someone who remains calm under pressure and avoids emotional extremes. But while this captures important aspects of Stoicism,
Video examples
World’s Weirdest Theme...
but one of the most bizarre and horrifying amusement parks is in Lithuania it's a place called grutas park which is colloquially known as
Video examples
Anil Seth: How your...
Just as there are many different aspects of selfhood, there are many different kinds of memory, too. I think colloquially, in everyday language, when we talk about memory, we often talk about autobiographical memory or episodic memory,
Video examples
The philosophy of...
Today, we colloquially use the word stoic to mean someone who remains calm under pressure and avoids emotional extremes. But while this captures important aspects of Stoicism,
Video examples
World’s Weirdest Theme...
but one of the most bizarre and horrifying amusement parks is in Lithuania it's a place called grutas park which is colloquially known as
Example 1 of 3
Quote examples
John McWhorter
American Writer
Black English is something which - it's a natural system in itself. And even though it is a dialect of English, it can be very difficult for people who don't speak it, or who haven't been raised in it, to understand when it's running by quickly, spoken in particular by young men colloquially to each other. So that really is an issue.
Quote examples
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
American Actor
I will never forget the pleasure and instruction I derived from working with a true master of his art, such as Edward G. Robinson was - and is. Surely his record for versatility, studied characterization - ranging from modern colloquial to the classics - and artistic integrity is unsurpassed.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
The tone of good web writing grows out of email. It's more direct, personal, colloquial, urgent, witty, efficient. It doesn't waste your time. It reflects that engagement, responsiveness, and haste of web surfers, as opposed to the more general passivity of print readers.
Quote examples
Eavan Boland
Irish Poet
In my thirties I found myself, to use a colloquial fiction, in a suburban house at the foothills of the Dublin mountains. Married and with two little daughters, I led a life which would have been recognizable to any woman who had led it and to many others who had not.
Quote examples
James Jones
American Author
I think that a classic style in writing tends to remove the reader one level from the immediacy of the experience. For any normal reader, I think a colloquial style makes him feel more as though he is within the action, instead of just reading about it.
Quote examples
Sudha Murty
Indian Educator
Though most of my titles are translated into about 7 to 8 languages, I feel that translations, to some extent, can lose the flavour of the colloquial words used otherwise in the regional narrative.
Quote examples
John Key
New Zealander Politician
The public talk colloquially, the public's grammar's not perfect. They kid around and I don't think they overly mark me down for that. They just see me as a normal guy.
Quote examples
James Patterson
American Author
My style is colloquial storytelling. It's the way we tell stories to one another - it's not writerly, it's not overdone.
Quote examples
David Antin
American Poet
I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.
Quote examples
Pamela Druckerman
American Writer
Podcasts immersed me in colloquial English and put me back in the American zeitgeist.
Quote examples
John McWhorter
American Writer
Black English is something which - it's a natural system in itself. And even though it is a dialect of English, it can be very difficult for people who don't speak it, or who haven't been raised in it, to understand when it's running by quickly, spoken in particular by young men colloquially to each other. So that really is an issue.
Quote examples
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
American Actor
I will never forget the pleasure and instruction I derived from working with a true master of his art, such as Edward G. Robinson was - and is. Surely his record for versatility, studied characterization - ranging from modern colloquial to the classics - and artistic integrity is unsurpassed.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
The tone of good web writing grows out of email. It's more direct, personal, colloquial, urgent, witty, efficient. It doesn't waste your time. It reflects that engagement, responsiveness, and haste of web surfers, as opposed to the more general passivity of print readers.
Quote examples
Eavan Boland
Irish Poet
In my thirties I found myself, to use a colloquial fiction, in a suburban house at the foothills of the Dublin mountains. Married and with two little daughters, I led a life which would have been recognizable to any woman who had led it and to many others who had not.
Quote examples
James Jones
American Author
I think that a classic style in writing tends to remove the reader one level from the immediacy of the experience. For any normal reader, I think a colloquial style makes him feel more as though he is within the action, instead of just reading about it.
Quote examples
Sudha Murty
Indian Educator
Though most of my titles are translated into about 7 to 8 languages, I feel that translations, to some extent, can lose the flavour of the colloquial words used otherwise in the regional narrative.
Quote examples
John Key
New Zealander Politician
The public talk colloquially, the public's grammar's not perfect. They kid around and I don't think they overly mark me down for that. They just see me as a normal guy.
Quote examples
James Patterson
American Author
My style is colloquial storytelling. It's the way we tell stories to one another - it's not writerly, it's not overdone.
Quote examples
David Antin
American Poet
I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.
Quote examples
Pamela Druckerman
American Writer
Podcasts immersed me in colloquial English and put me back in the American zeitgeist.
Example 1 of 10
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