colloquial

[kuh-loh-kwee-uhl]

adjective

1. characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal.

   Antonyms: formal

2. involving or using conversation.

colloquial

/ kəˈləʊkwɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to conversation

2. denoting or characterized by informal or conversational idiom or vocabulary Compare informal

Other Word Forms

• colloquially adverb
• colloquialness noun
• colloquiality noun
• quasi-colloquial adjective
• quasi-colloquially adverb
• semicolloquial adjective
• semicolloquially adverb
• uncolloquial adjective
• uncolloquially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of colloquial¹

First recorded in 1745–55; colloquy + -al ¹

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The acronym “GOAT” has become so common in colloquial conversation that it has practically lost all significance, appearing so frequently that the idea of greatness has been dulled into something ordinary, rather than exceptional.

From Salon

In the “digging” she stitches together the physical work of excavation, the ‘60s and ‘70s colloquial meaning of “dig” as to “understand” and, lastly, its nod to DJ/crate-digging culture that remixes and reimagines.

From Los Angeles Times

Celebrities are all too familiar with the world of deepfakes, the colloquial term for artificial intelligence-generated videos that depict actors and other Hollywood talent falsely doing or saying things that they never agreed to.

From Los Angeles Times

Alamak, a colloquial exclamation used to convey surprise or outrage in Singapore and Malaysia, also made the list.

From BBC

“The critiques have really focused on her leadership and not the City Council and not the supes,” Hancock said, using a colloquial term for the county Board of Supervisors.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• conversational 
• vernacular