colloquialism
/kəˈləʊkwiəlɪzəm/ (bre, ipa) · /kəˈləʊkwiəlɪzəm/ (ame, ipa) · /kə-ˈlō-kwē-ə-ˌli-zəm/ (ame, mw)
colloquialism — noun
- colloquialismsingular
- colloquialismsplural
1. an everyday spoken expression — a single word or short phrase — that fits relaxe
an everyday spoken expression — a single word or short phrase — that fits relaxed talk between friends or family but feels out of place in essays, business letters, or other careful writing.
Saira's English teacher warned the class against using colloquialisms in their final exam essays.
typical advice context: avoid colloquialisms in formal writing
"Y'all" is a Southern colloquialism that Tendai picked up during his year studying in Atlanta.
pattern: X is a colloquialism (identifying a specific informal word)
The translator struggled to render Chinese colloquialisms into natural-sounding English without losing their warmth.
Élise dropped her usual colloquialisms when speaking to the visiting ambassador at the embassy dinner.
British colloquialisms like "knackered" and "chuffed" often confuse American visitors on their first trip to London.
- informalism
rare technical synonym; mostly used by linguists
- everyday expression
neutral descriptive paraphrase, not a single-word equivalent
- vernacular term
stresses the local or community-bound flavour of the expression
- formalism
formal expression suitable for academic or legal writing
文法句型
a + colloquialism
colloquialism for + noun
用法筆記
Subject of 'is a colloquialism' is typically a specific quoted word or short phrase; the noun is frequently plural in advice about writing style.