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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of patois
One complaint was Jar Jar’s accent, which some perceived as derived from Jamaican patois.
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Carlos Aguilar, New York Times, 3 May 2024
Peddlers greet customers in Belize’s official language, English, or Kriol, the patois formed centuries ago when Britons brought enslaved Africans to what is now Belize.
—Simon Romero Alejandro Cegarra, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
These individuals’ diverse languages melded together, and a distinctive patois and culture started to emerge.
—Joshua Kagavi, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
Gillis, playing an Ohio Catholic dad who drags his family to church while vacationing in Jamaica, catches the spirit (and a pretty decent patois) and the whole sketch ends with a literal crossing of the aisle as the white tourist family jams alongside the Jamaican congregation.
—Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for patois 
Carlos Aguilar, New York Times, 3 May 2024
Peddlers greet customers in Belize’s official language, English, or Kriol, the patois formed centuries ago when Britons brought enslaved Africans to what is now Belize.
—Simon Romero Alejandro Cegarra, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
These individuals’ diverse languages melded together, and a distinctive patois and culture started to emerge.
—Joshua Kagavi, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
Gillis, playing an Ohio Catholic dad who drags his family to church while vacationing in Jamaica, catches the spirit (and a pretty decent patois) and the whole sketch ends with a literal crossing of the aisle as the white tourist family jams alongside the Jamaican congregation.
—Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for patois
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patois
Noun
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This brings the show to 58 categories, and songs will only be considered if their lyrics are at least 60% written in Spanish, Portuguese or a native regional dialect.Kaitlyn Schwanemann, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
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His father worked as a sports journalist and his mother as a dialect coach.Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024
Noun
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There are effective remedies available through the court system to a party who feels they have been harmed because the other party breached (legal terminology for broke) their contract.Joe Sabin, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
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Holgorsen didn’t know the terminology or the names of many players.Mitch Sherman, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Regrettably, the catchy moniker has slinked into our vocabulary, and we are seemingly stuck with it.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
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The reports began introducing the rhetoric of climate change straight into the heart of the far right’s vocabulary.Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 19 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The platform launches with a slate spanning 12+ languages and 10+ genres, featuring everything from video-on-demand content to free gaming, radio streaming, and 65 live channels.Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Nov. 2024
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The language barrier has always been the catalyst for most problems when working with someone who speaks a foreign language.Expert Panel®, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Slang terms for marijuana Pot, Mary Jane, grass, reefer, green, hash, ganja and doobie are just a few of the ever-growing list of slang terms used in exchange for marijuana.Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024
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Fact checked by Sarah Scott Parents of tweens and teens like me are always in need of a brush up on current slang terms, such as lala bop, and rizz.Melissa Willets, Parents, 1 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near patois
Cite this Entry
“Patois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patois. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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