governess

noun

Definition of governessnext
1
as in duenna

Related Words

Relevance
2
as in reader

Related Words

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 governess Many aspects of the book were inspired by Brontë’s life, including her months working as a governess to help pay her brother Branwell’s debts. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May 2026 The ladies Carnarvon, their daughters, and their guests—not to mention the governesses, maids, and cooks? — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026 Their governess, Marion Crawford, educated them on the building’s third floor, offering a chronicle of the comfortable home in her 1950 memoir, The Little Princesses. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 24 Feb. 2026 Like many young women of her generation, Lady Anne was educated at home by a governess and reportedly excelled at music and languages. — Stephanie Bridger-Linning, Vanity Fair, 17 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for governess
Recent Examples of Synonyms for governess
  1. reader
  2. doctor
  3. preacher
  4. professor
  5. dean
  6. pedant
  7. academician
  8. academe
Noun
  • In my disturbance—whether witnessed by a fellow cinema patron or a reader of this essay—I am exposed a second time.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Singletary has used her own life experiences including raising her kids, helping take care of her disabled brother and planning her estate to help her readers navigate their financial journeys.
    — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of reader
Noun
  • Bruni said the pope's doctors would decide if there were any changes expected to his discharge date.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • At the time, doctors didn’t believe it was linked to her vision loss.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of doctor
Noun
  • And yet another member, Cody Smith, said his grandfather was preacher of the church for more than 40 years.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
  • This brings to mind a song from yesteryear about the preacher and the bear.
    — Alfred H. Moses, Baltimore Sun, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of preacher
Noun
  • The august speakers included an Oxford don, a Harvard strategy professor, a New York Times reporter, and … me, the lone representative for the young and technologically adept, unencumbered by conventional wisdom.
    — Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The breach caused the company, Instructure, to temporarily take Canvas offline and interrupted classes, assignments and finals preparations for hundreds of thousands of students and professors as hackers threatened to release their personal data.
    — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of professor
Noun
  • Leadership at the university turned over last year, with the president, the dean of students and the director of Greek life all departing.
    — Brittany Shammas, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Parolin, who had been Francis' top deputy but remains in the job, was considered a leading contender in the conclave that elected Leo and was recently passed over as dean of the College of Cardinals.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of dean
Noun
  • Perhaps only a pedant—or a hypocrite—would fuss about that kind of imprecision.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Rarely is there much conceptual overlap between the categories of pedant and genius.
    — Clare Bucknell, The New York Review of Books, 27 June 2026
Definition of pedant
Noun
  • While scientists around the globe believe there's water ice on the moon, said Ye Peijian, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, no one has definitively found and fully evaluated that resource as yet.
    — Leonard David, Space.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The framing story follows Toño, a struggling writer, would-be academician and lifelong devotee of traditional Peruvian creole music.
    — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 24 May 2026
Definition of academician
Noun
  • And in the academe, there is a growing demand for nuclear science education.
    — Lorela U. Sandoval, Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2026
  • Different goals lead to different strategies The differences between industry and academe begin with a divergence in purpose.
    — Maysam Ghovanloo, IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2026
Definition of academe

Browse Nearby Words

governed
governess
governesses
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Governess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/governess. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All