handsel

noun

ˈhan(t)-səl How to pronounce handsel (audio)
Definition of handselnext
as in gift
something given to someone without expectation of a return gave little handsels to their houseguests on New Year's Day

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for handsel
  1. gift
  2. donation
  3. present
  4. presentation
Noun
  • Trees are more than a gift to communities, according to new research from the University of Illinois and Professor William Sullivan's team.
    — Tara Molina, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • People may respond more warmly to you, but the real gift is feeling more at home in your own presence.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of gift
Noun
  • Be careful of disaster donation scams Major disasters can also lead to fraudulent fundraising efforts.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Collection centers for donations were established in Bogotá and Cali, the mayor said.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of donation
Noun
  • After the late monarch stopped wearing the tiara, it was loaned to Diana in 1981 as a wedding present.
    — Francesca Gariano, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026
  • And degraded plastic presents a worse environmental issue than muddy grass.
    — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of present
Noun
  • Its arena can hold up to 3,600 fans and will host Pitt volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling, bringing those teams’ practices and competitions into a modern venue built for larger crowds, game-day presentation and recruiting.
    — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The commission meeting was also unusually well-attended — a common occurrence at many normally quieter meetings across the area in recent months — and included a presentation about the development from Brian Frank, the SMC chief engineer.
    — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of presentation
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.

Browse Nearby Words

hands down
handsel
handsels
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Handsel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handsel. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of salvo

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All