cant
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A characteristic language of a particular group.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kantIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkænt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)
countableuncountable
A private or secret language used by a religious sect, gang, or other group.
A language spoken by some Irish Travellers; Shelta.
uncountable
Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.
Slope, the angle at which something is set.
A corner (of a building).
verb
intransitive
To speak with the jargon of a class or subgroup.
intransitive
To speak in set phrases.
intransitive
To talk, beg, or preach in a singsong or whining fashion, especially in a false or empty manner.
transitive
To set (something) at an angle; to tilt.
transitive
To give a sudden turn or new direction to.
transitive
To bevel an edge or corner.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)
Used this way, cant is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- lingo , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use cant
- “Many political speeches are full of empty cant that means nothing.”noun
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.