as in dialect
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field
the medical patois that the hospital staffers used among themselves was incomprehensible to me
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patois
And so there’s West Indian patois and language and music and food.
—
Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
There are countless examples like these, in which English scaffolding has adapted to the demands and the cultural heritage of its speakers, from Jamaican patois to Tok Pisin, of New Guinea.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Instead, viewers are immersed in Millie’s Kingston, with dialogue spoken almost entirely in Jamaican patois, where opportunities are limited, gang violence persists and whiteness is still put on a pedestal.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 25 Nov. 2024
Casting themselves as high priests of pop culture, the duo encapsulated gay-millennial preoccupations and patois.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for patois
Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
There are countless examples like these, in which English scaffolding has adapted to the demands and the cultural heritage of its speakers, from Jamaican patois to Tok Pisin, of New Guinea.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Instead, viewers are immersed in Millie’s Kingston, with dialogue spoken almost entirely in Jamaican patois, where opportunities are limited, gang violence persists and whiteness is still put on a pedestal.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 25 Nov. 2024
Casting themselves as high priests of pop culture, the duo encapsulated gay-millennial preoccupations and patois.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for patois
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patois
Noun
-
There’s no universal language—only tribal dialects.—
Shekar Natarajan,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
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Because the characters are speaking a very distinctive local dialect, and that’s, of course, completely lost in translation.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2025
Noun
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The development of new terminology could impact biomarker development and the understanding of liver disease’s natural history, which took decades to establish.—
Suchandrima Bhowmik,
Health,
31 May 2025
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Trained in the Sanford Meisner method of acting — and not afraid to throw that terminology around!—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Fans of Harry Potter books, films will likely recognize the setting, vocabulary, characters at Epic Universe.—
Samantha Neely,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
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Who wants their grandchildren to emulate such limited vocabulary, negative language and divisive rhetoric?—
Christine Ledbetter,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2025
Noun
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This platform uses rigorous standardization protocols, like OMB guidelines for demographics and ISO codes for language, ensuring consistency.—
Raghvendra Tripathi,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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With technical innovation and a brand defining visual language that dates back 102 years, TIME Studios aims to impact communities and the world at large with ideas that forge true progress.—
TIME PR,
Time,
27 May 2025
Noun
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Look into the slang and jargon your kids are using — a few of them can be linked to specific online spaces, or even to certain ideologies.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
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The linguistic features of Gen Alpha slang are heavily shaped by digital culture.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Patois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patois. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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