as in night
of, relating to, or occurring in the night he bought a new telescope so he could pursue his favorite nocturnal hobby of astronomy

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Example Sentences

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 nocturnal How the Squirrel Left the Mark Seth Magle, director of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute, noted that concrete is usually poured during the day, when squirrels are active, while rats are nocturnal. Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025 Beyond astronomy, the continuous illumination could disrupt the delicate daily rhythms of nocturnal animals, impacting ecosystems worldwide. Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2025 Payton found an ally in running back Walker, who had absorbed football’s complex verbiage during his nocturnal Sunday nights. Peter Carline, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025 That nocturnal voyage along the narrow waterway was for me a strange and disquieting experience. Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nocturnal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nocturnal
Adjective
  • Book a pre-night hotel stay after overnight flights.
    Alesandra Dubin, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The pair can also arrange multi-night pack trips or erect a camp next to an old miner’s cabin for a backcountry-light experience catered by the house chef.
    Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 4 Feb. 2023
Adjective
  • News networks marked the moment with post-midnight ET special reports, with CNN and MSNBC featuring countdown clocks before switching their chyron banner headlines.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Nocturnal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nocturnal. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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