Sinhalese
noun
Sin·ha·lese
ˌsiŋ-gə-ˈlēz 
ˌsin-(h)ə-
ˌsin-(h)ə-
-ˈlēs
variants
or Singhalese
plural Sinhalese or Singhalese
1
: a member of a people that inhabit Sri Lanka and form a major part of its population
2
: the Indo-Aryan language of the Sinhalese people
Sinhalese
adjective
or Singhalese
Examples of Sinhalese in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Through the imposition of Sinhalese as the official language and Buddhism as the official religion, a deep division was created, provoking protests by the Tamils, peaceful at first but increasingly violent when crushed by the state.
—
Ramachandra Guha, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Wouldn’t the world be a much more peaceful place if the Kurds would just agree to speak Arabic or Turkish, if Sri Lanka’s Tamils would consent to speak Sinhalese, and if the Armenians would switch to Azerbaijani (or vice versa)?
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
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Ramachandra Guha, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Wouldn’t the world be a much more peaceful place if the Kurds would just agree to speak Arabic or Turkish, if Sri Lanka’s Tamils would consent to speak Sinhalese, and if the Armenians would switch to Azerbaijani (or vice versa)?
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
Dictionary Entries Near Sinhalese
Cite this Entry
“Sinhalese.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Sinhalese. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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