nymph

noun

ˈnim(p)f How to pronounce nymph (audio)
Definition of nymphnext
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 Theron plays the nymph Calypso, who keeps Odysseus enchanted on her island for seven years. — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026 The Odyssey also features the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron) and Penelope’s sniveling suitor, Antinous (Robert Pattinson), who is seeking to marry the queen and become the ruler of Ithaca. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026 Achilles discovered among the Daughters of Lycomedes depicts a Greek mythological scene during the Trojan War in which the hero Achilles has been hidden by his mother, the sea nymph Thetis, on the island of Skyros. — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 2 July 2026 Mayflies lay up to 10,000 eggs in the water, and their nymphs can't survive in water that is polluted. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for nymph
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nymph
  1. mermaid
  2. larva
  3. girl
  4. dryad
Noun
  • Between rough-cut fringe, mermaid wave extensions, a bouffant side part and a slicked ponytail, Madix and Bembridge fearlessly sampled every style and silhouette in the big book of hair this season.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 13 July 2026
  • Played by the talented Halle Bailey, young mermaid Ariel yearns to be on land, has the hots for Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) – who at least gets a character arc this time – and agrees to a bad deal with witchy Ursula (Melissa McCarthy).
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 July 2026
Definition of mermaid
Noun
  • In a paper published this month in PLOS One, Alaei and her colleagues propose an alternative - employing a suite of superworms, a kind of hefty beetle larva that can capably pick a variety of animal skeletons clean.
    — Ari Daniel, NPR, 17 July 2026
  • Fireflies go through four life stages – egg, larva, pupa and adult – in a process called complete metamorphosis.
    — Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Definition of larva
Noun
  • A little girl was in her pajamas along with another woman, and authorities were trying to keep the girl inside crime scene tape that had been set up, Humiston said.
    — Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 13 July 2026
  • Then comes another character, Bernard, also young and who, while bathing one day, swims into a girl called Huguette.
    — André Aciman, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
Definition of girl
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
Definition of dryad

Phrases Containing nymph

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nuzzling
nymph
nymphomania
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Cite this Entry

“Nymph.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nymph. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nymph

Nglish: Translation of nymph for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nymph

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