variants or hanky
as in handkerchief
a small, often square piece of material that is used for personal hygiene purposes held a hankie up to his nose and blew vigorously

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 hankie So Judy Garland and Kay Thompson went out to this tent in Connecticut, or wherever, and burst into tears watching her perform but didn’t have a hankie. Juan A. Ramírez, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 Related: Best Pie Recipes for Any Occasion 3 Handkerchief Bunting Kids will love helping set the mood for merriment by folding vintage hankies in half diagonally and hanging them on lengths of sturdy jute twine using small wooden clothespins. Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 24 June 2023 Threads fly and snag over the grid of hankies, and become their own calligraphy. Cate McQuaid, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Apr. 2023 Be warned that Homebound is a three-hankie weeper. Anupama Chopra, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for hankie
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hankie
handkerchief
Noun
  • There was Onur, with his hair slicked back, dark and free of flour, and there was Leyla, a handkerchief to her eye.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The fans responded by waving their white handkerchiefs, the ultimate sign of disapproval.
    Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Hankie.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hankie. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.

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