1
as in nickname
a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual
King Richard I of England was given the very laudatory epithet "the Lion-Hearted"
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in insult
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
the school has a strict ban against the use of offensive epithets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of epithet
While the epithet is sometimes attributed to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, Ronda has maintained a romantic aura for centuries, drawing creatives like Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles to its mountaintop setting.
—
Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2026
Just a few days earlier in California, a house that had been decorated with lights celebrating Chanukah was riddled with bullets, with the assailant having been heard to yell anti-Jewish epithets.
—Rabbi Steve Roth, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
The doc has also earned the ire of Chase’s former Community co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, who firmly distanced herself from it and all attempts to reinvestigate Chase’s firing from the show amid accusations of hurling racial epithets.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 30 Dec. 2025
The president’s epithet didn’t come out of thin air.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for epithet
Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2026
Just a few days earlier in California, a house that had been decorated with lights celebrating Chanukah was riddled with bullets, with the assailant having been heard to yell anti-Jewish epithets.
—Rabbi Steve Roth, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
The doc has also earned the ire of Chase’s former Community co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, who firmly distanced herself from it and all attempts to reinvestigate Chase’s firing from the show amid accusations of hurling racial epithets.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 30 Dec. 2025
The president’s epithet didn’t come out of thin air.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for epithet
Recent Examples of Synonyms for epithet
Noun
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Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson lived up to his nickname.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
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While the colors alone are enough to tell the story, the pair will reportedly be tagged with the aforementioned springtime nickname.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Where Vance seems only to have desired to berate and insult, there was something more urgently coaxing in Rubio’s tone.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
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Employees at an El Dorado Hills fast food restaurant went on a one-day strike, after a manager reportedly flung insults and acted unprofessionally to Latino workers.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There's one phrase, more a moniker than anything, that Fieri says has come to dominate his public mentions.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Feb. 2026
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There’s no consensus on which of the pieces from Jackie O’s collection earned the ‘swimming ring’ moniker.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Meanwhile, sitcoms like Friends marked a movement toward irony in comedy with its trademark tongue-in-cheek banter and sarcasm, Thompson explains.—
Liz Regalia,
Parents,
31 Jan. 2026
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Eby quipped with her usual dry sarcasm.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In a step that rights activists call an attempt to block a dual-surname system, Takaichi is calling for a law to allow the greater use of maiden names as aliases instead.—
Mari Yamaguchi,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
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In a step that rights activists call an attempt to block a dual-surname system, Takaichi is calling for a law to allow the greater use of maiden names as aliases instead.—
Mari Yamaguchi,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Epithet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/epithet. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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