non-colloquially

adverb

Not colloquially; in a noncolloquial way.

Meanings

adverbnon-colloquially (not comparable)

alternative noncolloquially

  1. not comparableNot colloquially; in a noncolloquial way.

    Some of these tweets used fluent English similar to a native speaker, while others used words or phrases slightly non-colloquially. For example, one tweet included the awkward use of the word “the” when it wrote, “Happy Birthday President Trump. Wish you a long life behind the bars #TheLoser.”

    2022 November 1, Renee DiResta, Elena Cryst, Chris Giles, Alyssa Kann, Gavin Xu, “Assessing Inauthentic Networks Commenting on the US Midterms”, in Election Integrity Partnership
    2 more examples

    If there is a maxim to the effect that a cooperative speaker is colloquial when possible, an utterer of (1c), who forgoes reflexivization and thus speaks noncolloquially, is cooperative only if he is not in a position to be colloquial, viz., only if he is not making a straightforward de re reference to John in tokening ‘John’ for the second time.

    1980 July, Steven E. Boër, William G. Lycan, “Who, Me?”, in The Philosophical Review, volume 89, number 3, →DOI, →JSTOR, page 462

    Instead, write non-colloquially, and aim for the golden mean, choosing words and grammar that are widely accepted, unless otherwise directed by your court. Aim for the milquetoast or beige: Excise anything unusual or snarky from the spelling, grammar, and layout of your legal writing. Your goal, in these matters of form, is not to stand out.

    2013, Brian K. Keller, “Whittling: Drafting Concise and Effective Appellate Briefs”, in The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, volume 14, number 2

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Germanic*ne
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ís?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
  5. Proto-Germanic*ainaz
  6. Proto-Germanic*nainaz
  7. Proto-West Germanic*nain
  8. Old Englishnān
  9. Middle Englishnon
  10. Old Englishnān
  11. Old Englishnān-
  12. Middle Englishnon-
  13. Englishnon-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  15. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  16. Proto-Italic*kom
  17. Proto-Italic*kom-
  18. Latincon-
  19. Proto-Indo-European*telkʷ-
  20. Proto-Indo-European*tlokʷetor
  21. Proto-Italic*tlokʷōr
  22. Latinloquor
  23. Latincolloquor
  24. Latincolloquium
  25. Middle Englishcolloquies
  26. Englishcolloquy
  27. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  28. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  29. Englishcolloquial
  30. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  31. Proto-Germanic*līką
  32. Englishcolloquially
  33. Englishnon-colloquially

From non- + colloquially.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

non-colloquially. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-colloquially

MLA

“non-colloquially.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-colloquially. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “non-colloquially,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-colloquially.

Source: non-colloquially on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.