What does phraseology mean?
Phraseology means the characteristic way in which a writer, speaker, or group chooses and arranges words. It concerns recurring features of expression, such as sentence structure, formality, idiom, and preferred vocabulary, rather than the meaning of an individual sentence. The term is often evaluative: someone may have distinctive, elevated, colloquial, archaic, or strongly regional phraseology. It can also refer more narrowly to the wording found in a particular document, period, or genre. A discussion of an author's phraseology may focus on habits that shape the overall impression of the writing, while comparisons between two phraseologies may reveal differences in cultural background, education, historical period, or social setting. The word is especially useful in literary criticism, translation, rhetoric, and the study of style because it directs attention to language as a set of observable choices rather than treating writing as a vehicle for ideas alone.
nounA particular style of expression, especially the characteristic choice and arrangement of words used by a writer, speaker, or group. It may also refer more narrowly to the wording or phrasing used in a particular context.
- A characteristic manner of expression, especially the choice and arrangement of words associated with a writer, speaker, or group.
- The particular wording or phrases used in a text, speech, or context.
"The essay's formal, measured phraseology suited its scholarly subject."
"Her direct, unadorned phraseology made the policy statement easy to understand."
"The translator preserved the original work's archaic phraseology."
Rare; phraseology is normally uncountable in contemporary usage.
"The two translators developed noticeably different phraseologies."
Phraseology is a transparent blend of phrase and -ology, reflecting an older sense as the study or science of phrases while now usually describing a distinctive way of speaking or writing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does phraseology come from?
Phraseology entered English in the early nineteenth century, formed from phrase and the suffix -ology. The suffix derives from Greek -logia, associated with study or science, while phrase ultimately comes from Greek phrasis, meaning speech, sentence, or phrase. The word originally referred more directly to the study or theory of phrases and wording, before acquiring its modern sense of a characteristic manner of expression.
Related word forms
How phraseology is actually used
Phraseology is usually uncountable in modern usage, especially when discussing a writer's general verbal style. The plural phraseologies is uncommon and tends to refer to distinct systems or bodies of wording.
Easily confused with phraseology
Phrasing refers to the particular words and syntactic arrangements used in an individual expression, whereas phraseology more often characterizes a writer's or group's overall verbal style.