as in girl
a young unmarried woman
knights are celebrated in fairy tales for rescuing damsels in distress
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Recent Examples of damsel
In stereotypical movies, the gallant hero saves the damsel through daring, dramatic action.
—
Amanda Nguyen, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025
Their days are taken up with shooting practice, lobster racing, pelting men with fruit, and slipping poison into unattended cups of tea—and best of all, there isn’t a damsel in distress in sight.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2025
For the female dancers, there are swans and sugar plums and celebrated damsels under duress, like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2025
Here, Hoult plays the damsel in distress.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for damsel
Amanda Nguyen, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025
Their days are taken up with shooting practice, lobster racing, pelting men with fruit, and slipping poison into unattended cups of tea—and best of all, there isn’t a damsel in distress in sight.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2025
For the female dancers, there are swans and sugar plums and celebrated damsels under duress, like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2025
Here, Hoult plays the damsel in distress.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for damsel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for damsel
Noun
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An all-female crew accomplished a brief spaceflight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule, the 31st such flight since its maiden flight in July 2021.—
Michael Verdon,
Robb Report,
14 Apr. 2025
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On February 27, 1812, the twenty-four-year-old poet George Gordon Byron rose in the House of Lords to deliver his maiden speech.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Later, a tracking shot outside the Bennets’ house at night glides from window to window, glimpsing the parents, then the sisters in their rooms, and also one of the maids walking up a flight of stairs singing a love song to herself.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
18 Apr. 2025
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Last month, four Ugandan women in maids’ uniforms sent a video plea to an aid group, saying that they had been detained for six months in Saudi Arabia.—
Kiana Hayeri,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Damsel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/damsel. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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