goblin

noun

ˈgä-blən How to pronounce goblin (audio)
Definition of goblinnext
as in fairy
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers dressed up the toddlers like goblins for Halloween

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 goblin Follow the babe with the power into Jim Henson’s gloriously weird fantasy wonderland, where goblins sing, doors argue, and David Bowie’s Goblin King serves enough glam-rock charisma to power an entire kingdom. — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 24 June 2026 After all, everyone's inner goblin comes out eventually. — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 15 June 2026 The scientists only got a passing glimpse of the goblin shark before the lights and loud noise from the ROV's motor scared it away, Auscavitch told ABC News. — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 12 June 2026 Researchers with the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center found video of a deep-sea goblin shark in its natural environment in 2024 in the Pacific Ocean's Tonga Trench. — Mark Osborne, CBS News, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for goblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goblin
  1. fairy
  2. elf
  3. dwarf
Noun
  • The countless repetitions give you the most beautiful art form where swans glide, fairies dance and every year a giant nutcracker appears.
    — Chrissie Leong, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026
  • Would the scary girls with fairy wings still be hanging around a trust-fund junkie with a tank of nitrous?
    — Claire Howorth, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
Definition of fairy
Noun
  • Reading allows children to live in a vibrant world, surrounded by fairies, elves and talking animals, transporting them to places where the impossible becomes real.
    — Michelle Kearney, The Conversation, 7 July 2026
  • Ferrell starred as Buddy in the 2003 Christmas classic, which focused on a human adopted by elves and raised as an elf in the North Pole until one day, as an adult, discovering his true identity.
    — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
Definition of elf
Noun
  • Around the dozens of containers that make Toolik the US’s largest research station in the Arctic, musk ox and caribou graze on dwarf birches and fragrant labrador tea, while Arctic ground squirrels pop out of their burrows to survey the tundra.
    — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
  • The two planets, named TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c, orbit an F7-type dwarf star roughly 1,110 light years away in the southern constellation of Volans.
    — Chris Young July 30, Refractor, 30 July 2026
Definition of dwarf

Browse Nearby Words

goblets
goblin
goblins
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Cite this Entry

“Goblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goblin. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on goblin

Nglish: Translation of goblin for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about goblin

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