ver·nac·u·lar
vər-ˈna-kyə-lər
və-
1
a
: using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language
b
: of, relating to, or being a nonstandard language or dialect of a place, region, or country
c
: of, relating to, or being the normal spoken form of a language
2
: applied to a plant or animal in the common native speech as distinguished from the Latin nomenclature of scientific classification
the vernacular name
3
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a period, place, or group
especially
: of, relating to, or being the common building style of a period or place
vernacular architecture
vernacularly
adverb
1
: a vernacular language, expression, or mode of expression : an expression or mode of expression that occurs in ordinary speech rather than formal writing
2
: the mode of expression of a group or class
3
: a common name of a plant or animal as distinguished from the Latin nomenclature of scientific classification : a vernacular name of a plant or animal
Synonyms
Examples of vernacular in a Sentence
Adjective
While there are American operas galore, some of which are quite good indeed, there is no vernacular opera tradition in America—instead, we have musical comedy—and now that supertitles have become standard equipment at major American opera houses, the chances that those houses will start regularly performing foreign-language operas in English translation have dropped from slim to none.
—Terry Teachout, New York Times Book Review, 9 Nov. 1997
Native crafts, the use of local materials, and vernacular buildings were considered integral to each country's heritage, and their preservation and revival became part of the movement to forge a strong national identity.
—Wendy Kaplan, Antiques, October 1995
For the proliferation of rich vernacular literatures in the twelfth century secured the place of the vulgar tongues in European society, and this entrenchment of the vernacular tongues made the European peoples more conscious of being separated from each other; decreased the cosmopolitan attitudes of the European nobility; and encouraged xenophobia, which became common in the thirteenth century.
—Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, 1993
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The film is not so much an adaptation of Caste but an attempt to translate it into the vernacular of narrative cinema.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2024
Davis took a course at Fletcher Arms Lake Country in Pewaukee in order to learn gun vernacular and best practices for using a firearm.
—Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 28 May 2024
Noun
The thing about the British language: for us Americans, there’s so many different accents, such different vernacular.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 17 June 2024
In Dehaene and Changeux’s version of GWT, the modules are linked by neurons that adjust their synapses to translate incoming data into the local vernacular.
—George Musser, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for vernacular
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vernacular.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near vernacular
Cite this Entry
“Vernacular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vernacular. Accessed 27 Jun. 2024.
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