1
as in mermaid
a mythical goddess represented as a young girl and said to live outdoors she bought the book of fairy tales for the beautiful engravings of nymphs and fairies featured between the stories

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2
as in larva
a young wingless often wormlike form (as a grub or caterpillar) that hatches from the egg of many insects mayfly nymphs

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3
as in girl
a female person who has not yet reached adulthood the neighborhood nymphs were gathered at the local pizza parlor

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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 nymph In Ovid’s version of the story, after cutting down a sacred oak, Erysichthon is cursed with insatiable hunger by the dryad nymph who inhabited it. Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025 The ticks live and feed on the deer, particularly during the insect's nymph and adult years, which can last up to three years. Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025 In Ovid’s poem, Narcissus is loved by a nymph, whose name is Echo. A.o. Scott, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025 The immature or nymph stage is similar in shape but more red than adult bugs. Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nymph
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nymph
Noun
  • From filmmaker Jo Southwell (Call the Midwife), The Catch follows a ruthless culinary showdown as a brilliant but obsessive chef journeys to Cornwall in search of the rarest seafood of all — a mermaid.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Simon Armstrong plays her husband Lutey, Clara Paget plays the mermaid and Cook stars as a doctor investigating Betty.
    James Russell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The zooids start as a single larva floating in the water among the plankton.
    Ashley Mackin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The parasite, a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly, attacks warm-blooded animals, including humans.
    Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • At age 15, she was shot in the face by the Taliban for advocating for girls' education in her home country of Pakistan.
    Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
  • At the absolute minimum, Prince Andrew and others in Epstein’s orbit showed a pathological incuriosity about the young girls who surrounded him—and that is stretching good faith to its very limit.
    Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In Ovid’s version of the story, after cutting down a sacred oak, Erysichthon is cursed with insatiable hunger by the dryad nymph who inhabited it.
    Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Having regained his health, Geralt heads off with Jaskier and the dryad Milva to find Ciri, following a little skirmish with some power-mad guards.
    Nick Romano, EW.com, 27 July 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Nymph.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nymph. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

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