alter ego

noun

ˌȯl-tər-ˈē-(ˌ)gō How to pronounce alter ego (audio)
Definition of alter egonext
1
as in friend
a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another over the years the state's other senator became his alter ego as well as his political ally

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in image
something or someone that strongly resembles another the hero of the novel is clearly the author's alter ego, right down to his receding hairline and middle-aged paunch

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 alter ego And if Abby could weigh in on Mills' latest venture, the actress is convinced her iconic alter ego wouldn't hesitate to give it her stamp of approval. — Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Just a few hours after dropping pics of herself with voluminous, body-licious curls, Khloé Kardashian decided to kick off August with a fresh hair cut—and introduced us all to her alter ego, Bob Kardashian, in the process. — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 7 Aug. 2026 Alison Kennedy was the heiress of a wealthy Palo Alto family who would later adopt the alter ego Queen Mu and launch an influential cyberculture magazine called Mondo 2000, a futuristic mash-up of technology, psychedelics, and arts writing. — Kimon De Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026 Does Absolutely feel like an alter ego or an extension of yourself? — Christina Perrier, InStyle, 30 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for alter ego
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alter ego
  1. friend
  2. image
  3. buddy
  4. twin
  5. picture
  6. replica
  7. clone
  8. duplicate
Noun
  • Nearly an hour after Nolan was last seen, friends on one of the boats noticed its bilge pump had failed and water was rapidly filling the hull, Tyler Cox and Edward Paltzik, attorneys for the friends, told CNN.
    — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Moehrig said there’s a mutual respect between the two players, who have become friends.
    — Joseph Person, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of friend
Noun
  • But there is a deeper question of why a modern tech company, especially an AI company, would need to soften their image with cotton and canvas.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Granted, save for one image on a TV screen, no one wears a Green Lantern mask or outfit in the Lanterns pilot, but the wheels of its story have been in motion for decades by the time its premise unfolds.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of image
Noun
  • The experience will also recreate Shrimp Boat Sound, Buffett’s Key West recording studio, and feature interviews with family members, bandmates, crew, friends, fishing buddies, boat builders, producers, authors, musicians and business associates.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Martial arts and supernatural horror collide in this romp of a buddy comedy.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of buddy
Noun
  • Women carrying twins or more babies at once also had substantially higher rates than those carrying one baby.
    — Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Taken together, these inputs—real geometry, real traffic, and each vehicle’s live GPS position—constitute what network researchers call a digital twin of the urban environment.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of twin
Noun
  • In practice, Ogunyemi argues, only a small number of people may regularly take advantage of an open-door policy, leaving leaders with an incomplete picture of what is happening across the organization.
    — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, Dorothea Lange’s 1936 picture of migrant Florence Owens Thompson and her children, is widely regarded as one of the most iconic photographs of the Dust Bowl period of the Great Depression.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of picture
Noun
  • Quotes from Yankee greats make up the park’s signage, and Elston Howard Field was created as a replica of a stadium that stood for 85 years.
    — Sam Blum, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • There is a replica that was made for the Larry David series by designer Christina Mongini, Sweet reported.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of replica
Noun
  • If a service is easy to copy, many clones appear and competition grows.
    — Filip Borcov, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The irony, of course, is that this clone looks nothing like the source material.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of clone
Noun
  • Application streamlining, like preventing duplicates and simplifying the online system, may also help.
    — Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • While the original 29 code talkers who created the unbreakable code received Congressional Gold Medals, subsequent Code Talker graduates received the silver duplicate.
    — Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of duplicate

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altered
alter ego
alter egos
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Cite this Entry

“Alter ego.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alter%20ego. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on alter ego

Nglish: Translation of alter ego for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about alter ego

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