SECOND FIDDLE Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

second fiddle

noun

Definition of second fiddle

as in second

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 second fiddle My connoisseurship plays second fiddle to my status as a member of the clan. — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 2 June 2026 The religion of college football is strong in the South, and everything else just plays second fiddle. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026 Bicycle tail lights have a way of playing second fiddle to their brighter, more interesting headlight siblings. — Ben Coxworth may 15, New Atlas, 15 May 2026 Colleen Camp, on the other hand, demonstrates a flair for light comedy as an alluring French maid, though the role too often requires her to play second fiddle to her own enhanced bosom. — Kirk Ellis, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for second fiddle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for second fiddle

Noun

With 13 seconds left and third down at the Braves’ 12, Guess threw the ball up toward the end zone and Brown, his best friend since the age of 6, caught it for a touchdown.

— Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2026
Eventually the inevitability of gravity brings them close enough to suddenly merge, sending out a tremendous blast of matter and energy that can outshine the sun by a factor of many billions, though just for the briefest fraction of a second.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of second

Noun

Mubarak Bekheit, an aid worker in Darfur, told the AP by phone on Wednesday that many people remained missing and some bodies had yet to be recovered from homes in the area after the strike hit a civilian neighborhood.

— YASSIR ABDALLA, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026
In the primary, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee courted Ford for a possible endorsement but ultimately found policy differences with him, Ford said, including his declining to support unconditional military aid to Israel.

— Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of aid

Noun

An aide to Kennedy reportedly paid a janitor with the same name to enter the race.

— Drew Kurlowski, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026
The slowdown could happen in a number of ways, GOP aides working on health policy told me — depending on how big an election night Democrats have.

— David Lim, semafor.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of aide

Noun

Yotova's main challenger is economist Andrei Gyurov, a former deputy governor of the central bank and caretaker prime minister who led the country in the early months of 2026.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
The video shows four deputies running after Garza along Interstate 10 in Palm Springs, with Garza facing the deputies several times while holding an object in his hands.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of deputy

Noun

But that hasn’t stopped out-of-state reenactors from worrying their muskets will be confiscated at the George Washington Bridge, says Justin Costantino, adjutant of the Long Island Companies of the 3rd New York Regiment.

— Allen G. Breed, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
In the months since fellow senior Legion executives suspended Abrahamson without pay from his statewide adjutant job in April, a number of the roughly 8,000 members in Idaho have called for a change in leadership.

— Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 13 July 2024

Definition of adjutant

Noun

Schnurr came to Cincinnati in 2008 as coadjutor archbishop and took over as archbishop about a year later, upon the retirement of former Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.

— Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
By 1997, he was named coadjutor archbishop of Buenos Aires, assuming full leadership of the archdiocese the following year.

— Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025

Definition of coadjutor

Browse Nearby Words

seconded

second fiddle

second fiddles

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Second fiddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second%20fiddle. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of second fiddle

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Pyrrhic

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes