idiomatic
adjective
id·i·o·mat·ic
ˌi-dē-ə-ˈma-tik 
1
: of, relating to, or conforming to idiom
2
: peculiar to a particular group, individual, or style
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The speech and writing of a native-born English-speaker may seem crude, uneducated, and illiterate, but will almost always be idiomatic—that is, a native speaker always sounds like a native speaker. For a language learner, speaking and writing idiomatically in another language is the greatest challenge. Even highly educated foreign learners—professors, scientists, doctors, etc.—rarely succeed in mastering the kind of idiomatic English spoken by an American 7th-grader.
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Examples of idiomatic in a Sentence
the new teacher's idiomatic approach to dealing with special-needs students is already showing signs of success
Recent Examples on the Web
He’s expanded the book by more than 150 pages since its previous edition, from 2009: a tribute to the idiomatic ingenuity of the social-media age, or just the pissiness in the air.
—
Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
Yet even shows produced in English in other countries, like the UK and Australia, can become a little thick for an American ear trying to sort out the idiomatic quirks and other differences.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 10 June 2024
To be sure, the pause in the action highlighted the brilliant work of the Royal Opera orchestra, under the fluid, idiomatic baton of Antonio Pappano.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Crafting great light verse and song lyrics is the white-water rafting of our language: small, regular eruptions of self-conscious wit oar against a steady stream of idiomatic speech.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 23 May 2022
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Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
Yet even shows produced in English in other countries, like the UK and Australia, can become a little thick for an American ear trying to sort out the idiomatic quirks and other differences.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 10 June 2024
To be sure, the pause in the action highlighted the brilliant work of the Royal Opera orchestra, under the fluid, idiomatic baton of Antonio Pappano.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Crafting great light verse and song lyrics is the white-water rafting of our language: small, regular eruptions of self-conscious wit oar against a steady stream of idiomatic speech.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 23 May 2022
See all Example Sentences for idiomatic
Dictionary Entries Near idiomatic
Cite this Entry
“Idiomatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiomatic. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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