colloquial
Americanadjective
-
characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal.
- Antonyms:
- formal
-
involving or using conversation.
adjective
-
of or relating to conversation
-
denoting or characterized by informal or conversational idiom or vocabulary Compare informal
Related Words
Colloquial, conversational, informal refer to types of speech or to usages not on a formal level. Colloquial is often mistakenly used with a connotation of disapproval, as if it meant “vulgar” or “bad” or “incorrect” usage, whereas it is merely a familiar style used in speaking and writing. Conversational refers to a style used in the oral exchange of ideas, opinions, etc.: an easy conversational style. Informal means without formality, without strict attention to set forms, unceremonious: an informal manner of speaking; it describes the ordinary, everyday language of cultivated speakers.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of colloquial
Explanation
Colloquial language is casual and conversational: it's the difference between "What are you going to do?" and "Whatchagonnado?" The word colloquial comes from the Latin word colloquium, which means "speaking together." The roots are the prefix com-, which means "together," and the suffix -loqu, which means "speak." Some may think that colloquial language is not good, when in fact it may just not be appropriate for the context. While it is OK to be colloquial and chatty with friends, it is not acceptable to be colloquial in an essay for school or work.
Vocabulary lists containing colloquial
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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The AP English Exam: Writing, Grammar, and Word Choice
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Vivacious Vernacular: Words About Slang
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Colloquial language, Dasani writes in pen, is “a regional dialect that is only spoken and understood by a group of people; includes slang.”
From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2021
It fulfills our yearning for “authenticity”: Colloquial speech sounds direct and unpremeditated.
From Washington Post • Jul. 8, 2021
It was also calculated to promote the study of the Romanized Colloquial Version of the Scriptures as well as other Romanized Colloquial literature.
From Forty Years in South China The Life of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D. by Fagg, John Gerardus
Literary and Colloquial Style.—The art of writing demands, first and foremost, substitutions for the means of expression which speech alone possesses—in other words, for gestures, accent, intonation, and look.
From Human, All-Too-Human, Part II by Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm
Author of "Waifs and Strays from the Far East," "Taoist Texts," "Idiomatic Phrases in the Peking Colloquial," &c. &c.
From The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha Review of the Different Systems of Hindu Philosophy by Acharya, Madhava
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
