1
as in addiction
a physiological need for certain drugs
I've got this monkey on my back, and going to detox is the only way to get it off
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2
as in devil
an appealingly mischievous person
come back here, you little monkey!
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Recent Examples of monkey
New Atlas, 19 Jan. 2026
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our streaming recommendations are a series documenting an Oscar winner’s 26,000-mile journey from the South Pole to the North Pole and a 1950s film starring a former president and a monkey.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Michael Haag, Dallas News, 10 Oct. 2022
With supply running low toward the end of most evenings, savvy bun fanatics don’t monkey around, routinely calling ahead to request an extra skillet of rolls set aside just for them. Ettan.
—Valerie Demicheva and Flora Chang, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for monkey
Noun
Some players like paper-thin picks and others prefer chunky monkeys.
—New Atlas, 19 Jan. 2026
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our streaming recommendations are a series documenting an Oscar winner’s 26,000-mile journey from the South Pole to the North Pole and a 1950s film starring a former president and a monkey.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Verb
The Bears will be prepared for the environment, but getting that Morgantown monkey off their back will take a lot more than imagined.
—Michael Haag, Dallas News, 10 Oct. 2022
With supply running low toward the end of most evenings, savvy bun fanatics don’t monkey around, routinely calling ahead to request an extra skillet of rolls set aside just for them. Ettan.
—Valerie Demicheva and Flora Chang, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for monkey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkey
Noun
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Trump was not the only person present at the executive order signing ceremony to have personal testimony regarding drug and alcohol addiction.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Jan. 2026
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Here is a book about addiction that offers itself as a kind of counter-addiction, an example of the compounding value of sustained attention.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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His characters make cavalier deals with the proverbial devil, even as the costs become harder to ignore.—
Virgie Tovar,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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American elites aped European fashions, art, and manners, and Europeans admired American energy and efficiency.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
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Trying To Avoid The Generic However, having minimal buttons is hardly an original design strategy when so many EVs have followed this route (aping Tesla).—
James Morris,
Forbes.com,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Together, these systems are intended to help farmers reduce dependence on manual labor and chemical herbicides while maintaining or improving crop yields.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Feb. 2026
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Trump administration announces plans for critical minerals stockpile The US government is developing a $12 billion critical minerals stockpile in its quest to bolster its domestic supply chain and reduce dependence on China.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Of all the former rascals, Symoné has enjoyed the longest and most successful career in entertainment.—
Andrew Walsh,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
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In the years since 2004’s Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Penn’s carved out a niche embodying big-talking, attention-grabbing rascals who say inappropriate things, then shrug their way through the consequences.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Many of the players reunited for a Boost Mobile commercial in 2010 that parodied the song, and Saturday Night Live created a mock Behind The Music documentary about it when Tom Brady hosted in 2005.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2026
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He has been parodied on SNL and has appeared on series including Treme, Billions and The Bear.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Rather than raze the city days before it was recovered by the Allied forces, Choltitz went rogue, negotiated a truce, and surrendered the city.—
Sally Susman,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
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The broom goes rogue, continually pouring buckets of water into an overflowing well.—
Bipul Sinha,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This ultrafine spray delivers ceramides and a lipid complex—a mix of ceramides, fatty acids, and cholesterol that mimic your skin’s natural lipids—to calm skin, lock in moisture, and strengthen the barrier.—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
1 Feb. 2026
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Your school system should mimic this.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Monkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkey. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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