a mythical goddess represented as a young girl and said to live outdoors
in Greek mythology, naiads supposedly drowned the young men with whom they became enamored
a young wingless often wormlike form (as a grub or caterpillar) that hatches from the egg of many insects
students in science class learning how to distinguish a dragonfly naiad from an earthworm
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 naiadToday, the naiads frolic in water that is periodically drained for cleaning and maintenance.—David Laskin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2024 And now, as played with fierce physicality and grueling commitment by Annette Bening, Diana is a movie character: an impossible person who achieved the impossible, a naiad whose truer mythological counterpart might be Narcissus.—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023 Leighton set his youthful figure — a classical nymph or naiad — in a Mediterranean setting.—Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2022 The lovely Arcadia region, lush with cypress, poplar, and olive groves, bears traces of the virgin wilderness where nymphs, naiads, and the horned god Pan once frolicked.—Thomas Linkel, National Geographic, 18 July 2019
Sacramento County health inspectors closed four restaurants this week, including Carmichael’s Royal Cuisine, where a live nymph cockroach was found crawling on the salt and pepper shakers.
—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
16 May 2026
August is when the season begins to ebb, with fewer nymphs around and eggs hatching larvae that are largely free of diseases.
But the setting isn’t, say, a fairy tale village or a mermaid kingdom under the sea, to point at two Disney classics the film gives winking reference to.
—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
15 May 2026
Mermaid dives require a separate ticket, while the mermaid meeting is included in admission.
—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026