phraseology
Americannoun
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manner or style of verbal expression; characteristic language.
legal phraseology.
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expressions; phrases.
obscure phraseology.
noun
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the manner in which words or phrases are used
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a set of phrases used by a particular group of people
Related Words
See diction.
Other Word Forms
- phraseologic adjective
- phraseological adjective
- phraseologically adverb
Etymology
Origin of phraseology
First recorded in 1600–10; from New Latin phraseologia (erroneously for unattested Greek phrasiología ), coined by German humanist Michael Neander (1525–95); phrase, -o-, -logy
Explanation
The particular style you use to express an idea in words is phraseology. Even if your two favorite novelists use the same basic plot, their phraseology will make the books feel completely different from each other. You can think of phraseology as the way a speaker or writer puts words and phrases together to form sentences. A linguist who studies phraseology is interested in expressions and idioms and in the way that different word choices can change the meaning of a phrase. Phraseology was coined in the 1550s from the Greek phrasis, "way of speaking," and it originally meant "a phrase book."
Vocabulary lists containing phraseology
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.
To use his own phraseology: “Would it were so.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
Former England captain Alan Shearer said some of the phraseology was confusing and has called for change: "Proximity... obvious position... not in an obvious position... natural," he said.
From BBC • Nov. 11, 2025
“As Michelle points out, she’s 86, you know, and sometimes trying to get the right phraseology when we’re talking about issues, Michelle is like, ‘That’s like her trying to learn Spanish,’” he said.
From Washington Times • Oct. 17, 2022
In Brandstein, Kaufman and Samuels' capable hands, the documentary maintains a laser-like focus on love — "the word known to all men," in the phraseology of James Joyce, one of Lennon's literary idols.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2022
That romantic phraseology came from Robert R. Wilson, whose preference for solitude sprang from his childhood on the Wyoming range.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
