sojourn

noun

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so·journ | \ ˈsō-ˌjərn

, sō-ˈjərn \

Definition of sojourn

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a temporary stay a sojourn in the country

sojourn

verb

so·journ | \ ˈsō-ˌjərn

, sō-ˈjərn \

sojourned; sojourning; sojourns

Definition of sojourn (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to stay as a temporary resident : stop sojourned for a month at a resort

Other Words from sojourn Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about sojourn

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Synonyms for sojourn

Synonyms: Noun

Synonyms: Verb

crash
[slang],
stay,
tarry,
visit

Examples of sojourn in a Sentence

Noun The visit with my father was preceded by a sojourn with my sister, Joy—an artistic type and sometime vegan who plays the part of patient vegetarian whenever her unrepentantly carnivorous brother drops in—and her husband, who were kind enough to pick me up at Heathrow. — John Haney, Gourmet, January 2003 On a recent sojourn in Sicily, I frequently found myself remembering that page in the children's encyclopedia, because it seemed to me that what I was seeing was as close as I will ever come to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. — Francine Prose, Atlantic, December 2002 My mother is Venezuelan, and every year during my childhood we spent a two-month sojourn with her family there. — Alexandra Starr, New Republic, 20 May 2002 Our family enjoyed a two-week sojourn in the mountains. spent a relaxing sojourn in her friend's summer home Verb 'Am I hideous, Jane?' 'Very, sir: you always were, you know.' 'Humph! The wickedness has not been taken out of you, wherever you have sojourned.' — Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847 … there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or, as he expressed it, "tarried," in Sleepy Hollow, for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. — Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleep Hollow, 1820 began their retirement by leisurely sojourning with friends and relatives scattered across the country

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun After his weeklong, unplanned sojourn in the snowy wilderness, Earl found a spot with limited cell service and dialed 911. — Nora Mishanec, San Francisco Chronicle, "Driver stranded in Sierra County snow for 7 days after GPS directs him to notoriously treacherous road," 3 Feb. 2021 Blue Origin launched its 14th sub-orbital flight of a New Shepard spacecraft Thursday, using its reusable rocket to boost an unpiloted crew capsule out of the discernible atmosphere for a brief sojourn in weightlessness. — William Harwood, CBS News, "Blue Origin launches New Shepard test flight, looks ahead to sending passengers into space," 14 Jan. 2021 Speculation is already running rampant about when Mr. Biden will make his first sojourn as president over. — Catherine Lucey, WSJ, "Biden’s Win Gives Ireland Deep-Rooted Ally," 16 Dec. 2020 Despite the closure, there are plenty of other places to spot the whales on their southern sojourn from arctic Alaskan waters to the shallow lagoons of Baja California, said Carlo Arreglo, a Point Reyes park ranger. — Nora Mishanec, SFChronicle.com, "With classic lookouts closed, here are the best Bay Area spots to catch migrating gray whales," 2 Jan. 2021 The Punisher, The Handmaid’s Tale), and follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) in their sojourn into Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. — Madison Durham, USA TODAY, "How to watch The Falcon and The Winter Soldier," 1 Jan. 2021 In old age, Adams conducted himself with the shocked air of someone who had returned from a sojourn into the future. — Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker, "What Henry Adams Understood About History’s Breaking Points," 30 Nov. 2020 Hubble has kept an eye on the storm since its discovery more than two years ago, and astronomers watched the storm take a southern sojourn near the planet's equator. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Hubble watches massive storm on Neptune reverse course," 17 Dec. 2020 His mother, after her sojourn in Mexico, is back in Yuba City. — Martin Wolk, Los Angeles Times, "After years of turmoil, ‘Dreamer’ and author Marcelo Hernandez Castillo is proud to put down California roots," 8 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Organizer Bob Hannaford said the swingers sojourn in New Orleans was initially scheduled for the summer but was postponed because of the pandemic. — Matt Sledge, NOLA.com, "New Orleans warns of rising coronavirus numbers: 'We don't have a lot of time'," 13 Nov. 2020 The safest way to sojourn into the haunted, creepy and macabre, especially during a pandemic, is never to leave home. — Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, "These spooky, creepy Kentucky artifacts are featured on TV just in time for Halloween," 27 Oct. 2020 For two weeks in August each year, the family would sojourn to the Atlantic Coast for a vacation, first at Ocean City and later at Bethany Beach and elsewhere. — Jacob Wallace, Washington Post, "Edward McCaffrey, who once worked as assistant postmaster general, was a history buff who was active in his church," 22 May 2020 To the city folk who sojourn there, West Marin is an agrarian idyll. — Leilani Marie Labong, SFChronicle.com, "Stalled by a pandemic, West Marin producers turn to trading foodstuffs," 21 May 2020 The author Richard Bach and the puppeteer Jim Henson sojourned to meet Ms. Roberts. — Sam Kestenbaum, New York Times, "Till Seth Do Us Part," 29 Oct. 2019 After sojourning in season 1-land in the season 8 premiere, Arrow is heading to another familiar location from its past. — Chancellor Agard, EW.com, "Arrow star Stephen Amell previews 'really hard' return Hong Kong," 21 Oct. 2019 Along the rugged coastline of southern Greece, our ancient human relatives may have sojourned in what was once a balmy refuge from the encroaching glaciers of the mid-Pleistocene. — Maya Wei-haas, National Geographic, "Enigmatic skull may be the oldest modern human outside Africa. But questions abound.," 10 July 2019 The residents of Blaine will have to endure the polite hordes of Canadians who sojourn here regularly, congesting local roads, patronizing the booming parcel economy, and emptying grocery-store shelves of their favorite products. — Alexandra Samuel, The Verge, "Welcome to Blaine, the town Amazon Prime built," 20 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sojourn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for sojourn

Noun

Middle English sojorn, from Anglo-French sujur, sujurn, from sujurner — see sojourn entry 2

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French sujurner, sejurner, from Vulgar Latin *subdiurnare, from Latin sub under, during + Late Latin diurnum day — more at up, journey

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