nymph

noun

ˈnim(p)f How to pronounce nymph (audio)
Definition of nymphnext
1
as in mermaid
a mythical goddess represented as a young girl and said to live outdoors she bought the book of fairy tales for the beautiful engravings of nymphs and fairies featured between the stories

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2
as in larva
a young wingless often wormlike form (as a grub or caterpillar) that hatches from the egg of many insects mayfly nymphs

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3
as in girl
a female person who has not yet reached adulthood the neighborhood nymphs were gathered at the local pizza parlor

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nymph Theron plays nymph Calypso in the Christopher Nolan blockbuster. — Meg Walters, InStyle, 31 July 2026 The sculptor Berthold Nebel left his mark across Manhattan, from the sea nymphs in the ceilings of the old Cunard Building at the foot of Broadway to the limestone reliefs at the Hispanic Society up on 155th Street. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 30 July 2026 Calypso is a nymph that Odysseus encounters on the mythical island of Ogygia. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 26 July 2026 The thick mats cover up the rocky streambed where invertebrates like mayfly nymphs like to live, and instead creates habitats for smaller insects, chironomids and worms. — Hannah Smith july 25, Idaho Statesman, 25 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for nymph
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nymph
  1. mermaid
  2. larva
  3. girl
  4. dryad
Noun
  • Called a mermaid’s purse because of its shape and size, the zebra shark egg’s translucence revealed an embryo.
    — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Saturday, utilizes 56,000 square feet of indoor space to host more than 200 vendors, sword-fighting, costume contests, live musicians, mermaids, fairies and photo ops.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of mermaid
Noun
  • Most individuals in each group begin life as a free-swimming trochophore larva.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The flesh-eating New World Screwworm is the parasitic larva that emerges from eggs laid by flies in the open wounds or body openings of warm-blooded animals and humans, with untreated cases potentially leading to severe injury or death.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of larva
Noun
  • The two girls were falsely listed as recruits for the university’s crew team, even though neither ever participated in the sport.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Even the Barbie doll, while often derided for promoting an unhealthy body image for developing children, offered girls a glimpse of a different future than as a wife and mother, Kimmel argues.
    — Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of girl
Noun
  • In Ovid’s version of the story, after cutting down a sacred oak, Erysichthon is cursed with insatiable hunger by the dryad nymph who inhabited it.
    — Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Having regained his health, Geralt heads off with Jaskier and the dryad Milva to find Ciri, following a little skirmish with some power-mad guards.
    — Nick Romano, EW.com, 27 July 2023
Definition of dryad

Phrases Containing nymph

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nuzzling
nymph
nymphomania
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Cite this Entry

“Nymph.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nymph. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nymph

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nymph

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