vernacular

American  

[ver-nak-yuh-ler, vuh-nak-] / vərˈnæk jə lər, vəˈnæk- /

adjective

1. (of language) native to a place (opposed to literary).

2. expressed or written in the native language of a place, as literary works.

   a vernacular poem.

3. using such a language.

   a vernacular speaker.

4. of or relating to such a language.

5. using plain, everyday, ordinary language.

6. of, relating to, or characteristic of architectural vernacular.

7. noting or pertaining to the common name for a plant or animal.

8. Obsolete. (of a disease) endemic.

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noun

• vernaculars
  plural

1. the native speech or language of a place.

2. the language or vocabulary peculiar to a class or profession.

3. a vernacular word or expression.

4. the plain variety of language in everyday use by ordinary people.

5. the common name of an animal or plant as distinguished from its Latin scientific name.

6. a style of architecture exemplifying the commonest techniques, decorative features, and materials of a particular historical period, region, or group of people.

7. any medium or mode of expression that reflects popular taste or local styles.

vernacular British  

/ vəˈnækjʊlə /

noun

1. the commonly spoken language or dialect of a particular people or place

2. a local style of architecture, in which ordinary houses are built

   this architect has re-created a true English vernacular

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adjective

1. relating to, using, or in the vernacular

2. designating or relating to the common name of an animal or plant

3. built in the local style of ordinary houses, rather than a grand architectural style

Synonym Usage

See language.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvernacular
  adjective
• vernacularly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vernaculars
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of vernacular

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin vernācul(us), “household, domestic, native” (apparently adjective use of vernāculus, diminutive of verna “slave born in the master's household”; further origin uncertain) + -ar ¹

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Explanation

Vernacular describes everyday language, including slang, that's used by the people. The vernacular is different from literary or official language: it's the way people really talk with each other, like how families talk at home. You know how some language is fancy and formal? Vernacular is different: think of it as how friends talk when no one is listening. Vernacular language includes slang and obscenities. One of the hardest things about writing for school is getting away from the vernacular and learning to write in more formal ways that don't come as naturally. You can also say specific groups have a vernacular, meaning the unique way people in a certain region or profession speak.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vernacular vernaculars

Gerstner, whose day job is running investment firm Altimeter Capital, pitches the program with the vernacular of a venture capitalist: “charitable giving at scale, directly to American kids, with proven ROI.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Rosales is aware that the world has its eyes on L.A. and that people everywhere are learning the cultural vernacular improvised by Cali’s brown folks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

On the “Ragbrai,” in the vernacular, we joined roughly 20,000 registered riders—and thousands more freeloaders—on its 53rd year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

Most of the time, I can overlook diluted queer vernacular popping up in the most random places.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

“Hidy, Miss Eggers,” he said, tipping an imaginary hat and sliding into the southern West Virginia vernacular.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

“People at the top spoke a different language, often Latin, and populations would speak local vernaculars, which were not standardized.”

From Slate ● Jul. 4, 2026

This media can’t be boring or overly wonky — it must speak in popular vernaculars with style and panache.

From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2025

She is intimate with its maps and vernaculars, and the way summer settles hard on the north-central plains along the Brazos River south of Horseshoe Bend near Granbury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024

The music grew diffuse, those nuances that detail Dvorak’s fascination with Black musical vernaculars felt unarticulated, and what was supposed to gleam often felt, well, glum.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 6, 2022

The vernaculars of India abound in proverbs which illumine this relationship and reveal its strange character.

From India, Its Life and Thought by John P. (John Peter) Jones

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Related Words

• argot
• dialect
• idiom
• jargon
• lingo
• parlance
• patois
• slang

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