[ adj ] characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation <adj.all> wrote her letters in a colloquial stylethe broken syntax and casual enunciation of conversational English
Colloquial \Col*lo"qui*al\, a. [See {Colloqui}.] Pertaining to, or used in, conversation, esp. common and familiar conversation; conversational; hence, unstudied; informal; as, colloquial intercourse; colloquial phrases; a colloquial style. -- {Col*lo"qui*al*ly}, adv.
His [Johnson's] colloquial talents were, indeed, of the highest order. --Macaulay.
"The Commies are our slaves now," said one Chinese merchant who learned his colloquial English from American GI customers during the war. "They need us more than we need them." But the change has not completely satisfied the Chinese.
His article mocks the party's claim of popular support and uses the colloquial "gensec" as an abbreviation for general secretary, Gorbachev's post in the party.
"My favorite musician is B.B. King," he says, in his accented but colloquial English.
Soon, his short stories were appearing in the prestigious Short Story Monthly and the literary journal Crescent Moon, which helped pioneer the use of colloquial language in literature.
How long will 'scuzzy' (US slang for filthy) or 'humungous' (colloquial for enormous) last?
The president, in his interview with foreign correspondents last Friday, had little doubt that the G7 could still serve a valuable problem-solving purpose under US example and leadership. Mr Lloyd Bentsen, the treasury secretary, was more colloquial.
Officials say Akihito will read his announcement in colloquial Japanese, unlike Hirohito's use of stilted classical language most Japanese cannot understand.