as in fairy
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers
during the World Wars, fighter pilots adopted the fanciful notion that gremlins were responsible for mechanical failures on their planes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of gremlin
In the surreal clip, North, 11, and Chicago, 6, take the wheel of a Tesla Cybertruck, speeding past furry gremlin-like beasts that evoke the hot rod monster art of Stanley Mouse.
—
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 28 Nov. 2024
Who knows what gremlins will crop up?
—Richard Bishop, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
Senior vehicle operations manager Cliff Lanham with NASA ground systems said the teams have addressed all the gremlins that popped up in the months before the launch of Artemis I, including leaks in the propellant lines that flowed into the rocket.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2025
No longer were gremlins only representative of niche superstitions held by nervous military airmen.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gremlin
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 28 Nov. 2024
Who knows what gremlins will crop up?
—Richard Bishop, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
Senior vehicle operations manager Cliff Lanham with NASA ground systems said the teams have addressed all the gremlins that popped up in the months before the launch of Artemis I, including leaks in the propellant lines that flowed into the rocket.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2025
No longer were gremlins only representative of niche superstitions held by nervous military airmen.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gremlin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gremlin
Noun
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As a sign of their whimsical and enigmatic nature, TLEs are called all sorts of fantastical names by scientists—elves, trolls, jets and ghosts, for instance.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
10 July 2025
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However, finding young actors who were not afraid of the dark elf proved challenging during filming.—
Andrea Wurzburger,
People.com,
22 June 2025
Noun
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Brown and Kountz play Luna and Marvin, a couple who moves to Evergreen Lane with a passion for goblins and ghouls that inspires the whole neighborhood to go all in.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 June 2025
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Stripped first of his access to the goblin court, and now of his ability to speak with the dead, Celehar nonetheless still has commitments to the living.—
Natalie Zutter
January 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Tell me a little bit about the technical side of filming a dwarf and an elf together.—
Devan Coggan,
EW.com,
13 Oct. 2022
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Other new characters include Disa, the first female dwarf ever shown in the Lord of the Rings series.—
Ethan Millman,
Rolling Stone,
22 July 2022
Cite this Entry
“Gremlin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gremlin. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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