Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
tonguelike

tonguelike

6.6
Shaped like a tongue and often used to touch things
  • adjective
  • /ˈtʌŋɡlaɪk/
translation icon : en forma de lengua
  • He picked up the tonguelike piece of candy and marveled at its unusual shape.

Examples

  • The plant has long, tonguelike leaves that sway gently in the breeze.

  • It curled down among the dishes, dripping glistening sap and stroking them with little tonguelike leaves.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The artist used a tonguelike brush to create fine details in the painting.

Synonyms

tongued
vstonguelike
1 7.2

Having a tongue-like part, for example in bees or boards

is about resemblance in shape or function rather than having a part
tongue-shaped
vstonguelike
1 5.1

A long, narrow shape with one rounded end like a small flap

is broader, applying also when something performs the organ's function
lingual
vstonguelike
  • Specialized
1 7.8

Near or connected to the tongue

is specifically about resembling shape or action of that organ not just location
lingulate
vstonguelike
  • Specialized
9.9

Shaped like a tongue

is broader, also used for things that act like that organ

Surface Forms

tonguelike positive

Morphology

tonguelike = tongue (transparent) = tongue + like

Formed by the noun 'tongue' plus productive adjectival suffix '-like' meaning 'resembling', so the relation is directly inferable.

Etymology

Tonguelike comes from the noun tongue, meaning the mouth part, and the ending -like, which means 'similar to'. So tonguelike means 'similar to a tongue', either in shape or in how it works.