multilingual

[muhl-tee-ling-gwuhl, muhl-tahy-, -ling-gyoo-uhl]

adjective

1. using or able to speak several or many languages with some facility.

2. spoken or written in several or many languages.

   a multilingual broadcast.

3. dealing with or involving several or many languages.

   a multilingual dictionary of business terms.

noun

1. a multilingual person.

multilingual

/ ˌmʌltɪˈlɪŋɡwəl /

adjective

1. able to speak more than two languages

2. written or expressed in more than two languages Compare bilingual monolingual

Other Word Forms

• multilingually adverb
• multilingualism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of multilingual¹

First recorded in 1830–40; multi- + lingual

Example Sentences

So what are the fundamental tenets of Britishness - a concept itself some would contest - under which a multicultural, multilingual, multireligious collection of nations such as the UK could agree on?

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“I also think it’s something that was shamed for so long, but it was shamed because of its power. By being international, multilingual and multicultural, we have so much power.”

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It gives her music a worldly quality, reflected in multilingual tracks like “Eurotrash,” which Rivera sings in English, Spanish and French.

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A system to send multilingual alerts during natural disasters was about to be adopted until it was put on hold.

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The call comes nearly five months after deadly fires in Los Angeles threatened communities with a high proportion of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders — some with limited English proficiency — highlighting the need for multilingual alerts.

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When To Use

What does multilingual mean?

Multilingual is most commonly used to describe someone who can speak or understand multiple languages, especially someone who can speak several languages with some level of fluency.It can also be used to describe things that involve or that are written or spoken in multiple languages, as in These instructions are multilingual—they’re written in seven different languages.Someone who speaks two languages is multilingual, but the term is most often used to describe someone who speaks more than three languages, since the term bilingual is commonly used to describe someone who speaks two languages and trilingual is used to describe someone who speaks three.The ability to speak multiple languages or the use of multiple languages is called multilingualism.Example: Being multilingual is a great advantage when applying for international jobs.