slang
Informal group speech
Slang is informal vocabulary that emerges from particular groups—teenagers, soldiers, criminals, musicians—and often stays there, though some slang eventually becomes standard.
Slang tends toward the vivid, irreverent, and ephemeral: yesterday's groovy becomes today's sick becomes tomorrow's dated relic.
The word also works as a verb: Don't slang me off means don't speak insultingly to me, chiefly in British use.
Group-specific coded speech
- cantSanctimonious insincerity
- lingoGroup-specific vocabulary
- patoisRegional informal speech
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
vernacular · colloquialisms · idioms · jive · shoptalk · buzzwords · neologisms · catchphrases
Rhythmic spoken-word music
- rapQuick sharp blow
- skateboardingSport on wheeled plank
- punkRaw, fast rock genre
- gothMelancholic music subculture
emo · indie · beatnik · hipster · streetwear · graffiti · underground · counterculture
Vulgar or obscene speech
- cursingUsing profane language
- swearingProfane speech or vows
- obscenityIndecent word or act
- vulgarityOffensive coarseness in manner
expletive · blasphemy · cussing · off-color · crude · coarse · bawdy · ribaldry
Newly created expression
- coinageInvented term or currency
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- shiftMovement or work period
spread · adoption · obsolescence · revival · generational · borrowed · blending · clipping
Implied identity comparison
- euphemismMild substitute for bluntness
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
innuendo · wordplay · pun · wit · exaggeration · understatement · coded · suggestive
argot
Group-specific coded speech
jargon · vernacular · colloquialisms · idioms · jive · shoptalk · buzzwords · neologisms · catchphrases · patter
hip-hop
Rhythmic spoken-word music
- rapQuick sharp blow
- skateboardingSport on wheeled plank
- punkRaw, fast rock genre
goth · emo · indie · beatnik · hipster · streetwear · graffiti · underground · counterculture · gaming
profanity
Vulgar or obscene speech
vulgarity · expletive · blasphemy · cussing · off-color · crude · coarse · bawdy · ribaldry · euphemism
neologism
Newly created expression
- coinageInvented term or currency
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
shift · spread · adoption · obsolescence · revival · generational · borrowed · blending · clipping · acronym
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- euphemismMild substitute for bluntness
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
sarcasm · innuendo · wordplay · pun · wit · exaggeration · understatement · coded · suggestive · playful
textspeak
Abbreviated digital communication style
viral · trending · lit · fire · slay · snatched · lowkey · highkey · salty · sus
- languagelanguage, word, words, grammar, spelling
- Language & Wordstranslation, etymology, grammar, vocabulary, phonetics
- vocabularyword, words, new words, term, terms
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- language usejargon, idiom, idioms, dialect, vernacular
- Spanish languagedialects, Spanglish, Latin America, Mexico, Caribbean
slangformal language
Elevated, rule-governed expression
standard language · elevated language · proper English · King's English · Queen's English
- regional slangInformal vocabulary of localities
- internet slangCasual online expressions
- slang termInformal vocabulary designation
- text slangInformal digital abbreviations
- British slangInformal UK vocabulary
- local slangArea-specific informal vocabulary