FRESHMAN Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

freshman

noun

ˈfresh-mən

Definition of freshman

as in novice

a person who is just starting out in a field of activity our senator is just a freshman in Congress

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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 freshman The College of Literature, Science and the Arts is the largest at the public university, with about 3,500 freshmen enrolled yearly, just less than half of the total class. — Dan Simmons, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026 Davion Adkins has missed practice time Davion Adkins, a 6-10, 225-pound freshman forward from Arlington, Texas, has missed some practice time of late because of a hyperextended knee, Self said. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026 The parents of Sheridan Gorman, the 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago freshman from Yorktown, New York, who was shot and killed in March, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant, also questioned the candidates. — Dick Brennan, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 Donalds, as a freshman lawmaker that year, voted against the post-Parkland bill. — Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for freshman

Recent Examples of Synonyms for freshman

Noun

In the latest, The Big Cats Dance Party, a high-profile case falls to a novice sleuth while the agency’s founder is away.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026
To a novice taster, sipping out of a plastic Mets carafe, the wine smelled like dry grass and very ripe blackberries.

— Arthur Holland Michel, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of novice

Noun

However, as Germany’s economic problems — slow growth, high inflation, rising energy prices — have worsened, public sentiment toward the newcomers has deteriorated.

— Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
That combination—veteran experience and newcomer mentality—may be the key to understanding the current moment.

— Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of newcomer

Noun

For carpenters, delays and poor weather conditions can disrupt the working hours apprentices need to complete their program, causing some to quit.

— Itzel Franco, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
More than half of the new money will go toward the CUNY Professional Development Institute to add 30 apprentices, doubling the total enrollment to 60 trainees, according to a press release shared with the Daily News ahead of the announcement.

— Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of apprentice

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freshly

freshman

freshmen

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“Freshman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freshman. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of freshman

noun

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