as in elf
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers
the metal cobalt gets its name from the medieval Germanic belief that its appearance in silver ore was the handiwork of mischievous, thieving kobolds
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Recent Examples of kobold
Monster Vault allows the designers to take a crack at some classic creatures like kobolds, goblins, demons and dragons.
—
Rob Wieland, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024
This element takes its name from the German word kobelt, signifying kobolds—gnomes and goblins thought to haunt mines.
—Sanjana Curtis, Scientific American, 4 July 2023
The word cobalt comes from the German word kobold, meaning goblin.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 18 Aug. 2022
Otherworldly cities modeled on real ones have been a standby of fantasy, from Superman’s Metropolis through China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun to Michael Swanwick’s Babel, with its haints and kobolds, ethnic politics and human ward-heelers.
—Tom Shippey, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2018
Rob Wieland, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024
This element takes its name from the German word kobelt, signifying kobolds—gnomes and goblins thought to haunt mines.
—Sanjana Curtis, Scientific American, 4 July 2023
The word cobalt comes from the German word kobold, meaning goblin.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 18 Aug. 2022
Otherworldly cities modeled on real ones have been a standby of fantasy, from Superman’s Metropolis through China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun to Michael Swanwick’s Babel, with its haints and kobolds, ethnic politics and human ward-heelers.
—Tom Shippey, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kobold
Noun
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And all these dwarves and elves and humans go, ‘What?—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
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The special will be made available on Disney+ the following day, and the elves will head to ABC’s shelves later in the season.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Dressed as a hot pink fairy, Alexa Bowers brought a drawing of Roan to give to the pop star.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
5 Oct. 2025
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Her perky protagonist notably navigated a romantic relationship with vampire Bill Compton and explored the roots of her own fairy ancestry.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Popping in for story time and serving goblin snacks on holidays kept me tethered to my clingy girl.—
Nancy Prentice,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Sep. 2025
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Some say the cave system would have connected the goblins from Hopkinsville to Hellier.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And all these dwarves and elves and humans go, ‘What?—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
-
These two dwarf galaxies orbit the Milky Way at distances of 163,000 and 200,000 light-years, respectively, moving through our galaxy's outer halo of hot gas not too dissimilar, but on a much smaller scale, from the Virgo Cluster's halo of hot gas.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And thank the faeries for that.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
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The Unseelie Court is the bastion of malevolent faeries who harm humans for their amusement or to exact revenge.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Kobold.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kobold. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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