Thesaurus results for MOTHER TONGUES

mother tongues

noun

plural of mother tongue

as in languages

the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication although the anthropologist could speak the local language fairly well, she was always glad to find someone who shared her mother tongue

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mother tongues Work with people of different ages, backgrounds, perspectives, and mother tongues. — Rachel Konrad, Time, 9 Dec. 2025 Each actress nails the comedic timing – and the accented English that flows with the cadence of their mother tongues. — Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongues

Noun

From a consideration of apoptosis—the orderly elimination of damaged or unnecessary cells—Solé moves on to failing machines, eroded memories, vanished languages, brittle digital archives, and more.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
The village officially launched Humphrey last Tuesday to provide access to information on local services, permits, meetings and events at all hours of the day, in more than 70 languages.

— Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of languages

Noun

Yet a 2023 Stanford study said that Pangram was biased against non-native English speakers, who might have more limited vocabularies, and many AI researchers contend that such detectors are unreliable.

— Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026
Chinese law schools have accordingly placed greater weight on teaching Chinese students to argue using the vocabularies of foreign legal systems.

— Mark Jia, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of vocabularies

Noun

There are plenty of idioms to describe Andrean outside hitter Aleece Ehler’s freshman season.

— Noah Poser, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
On the one hand, the translation serves as a source for the idioms of nineteenth-century English; on the other, as evidence of the ideas that the translator held about a Colombian woman writer.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026

Definition of idioms

Browse Nearby Words

mother tongue

mother tongues

mother wit

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Mother tongues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongues. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of mother tongues

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

dissonant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes