1
as in fairies
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers
the child insisted that he'd seen a sprite hiding in the garden
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in spirits
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
told hair-raising stories of sprites and spectral ships
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sprites
Elves and sprites belong to a family of electrical flashes known as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs), which occur high above thunderstorms rather than within them.
—
Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
The video chip’s control registers, screen bitmaps, text-screen data, default and custom character sets, sprites, and color information all live in different locations scattered across memory, with some data actually living in separate RAM and ROM chips.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Sep. 2025
Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
The video chip’s control registers, screen bitmaps, text-screen data, default and custom character sets, sprites, and color information all live in different locations scattered across memory, with some data actually living in separate RAM and ROM chips.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprites
Noun
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Plans include music, magic shows, face painting, stilt walkers, fairies, robots, a giant LED screen showing the ball drop from Times Square and more.—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
29 Dec. 2025
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If your favorite writer wishes they could be whisked away to the land of fairies and Björk and neighborhood hot springs, try cutting a large international corner with this bath product straight from the famous Blue Lagoon.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Despite its name, the bar operates as a globally minded cocktail destination with equal attention paid to other spirits, along with small bites and an impressive cigar selection.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
8 Jan. 2026
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And for Dirty Shirleys, different spirits, including vodka, gin, tequila and vermouth can be substituted.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Children must abide by the rules for keeping the elves at home.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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The elves were then given away, and handfuls have been on display in various locations in the following decades.—
Bebe Hodges,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Sam slips back into her addiction and as her alcoholism worsens, so do the visions and apparitions that seem to be haunting the forest.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
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One of the most stunning exhibitions of the year put the spotlight on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which has a long history dating back to 1531, tied to four apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a peasant in Mexico.—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The kallikantzaroi are a group of blind, black goblins who live underground during most of the year sawing at the world tree – a motif throughout various folklores that connects the heavens to the Earth.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
20 Dec. 2025
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On this day, candles were blessed for use in the coming year, and any decorations left up were thought to be at risk of becoming infested with goblins.—
Bobbi Sutherland,
The Conversation,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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These ghosts, which take the form of their dead friends, are mostly just goofy, with the shoddy special effects and glowy auras giving the whole thing a distinctly Haunted Mansion vibe; critically, the threat never feels real, which undermines any tension.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
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The ghosts of a 37-0 shutout to Iowa less than a month ago still lingered — the boos that faded into silence, the homecoming crowd that emptied before the fourth quarter, the scoreboard stuck on humiliation.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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As kobolds go, Heinzelmann was more harmless than most, going about his business protecting the castle from giants and dwarves and keeping the staff updated on faerie gossip, as well as protecting the chambermaids from unwelcome attentions from visiting noblemen.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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Fighting off hordes of alien monstrosities AND digging for rare minerals in outer space as a crew of beer-swilling, ass kicking space dwarves?—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The changes also allowed Mingo to step out of the shadows cast by André DeShields and Richard Pryor, who played the Wiz in the original Broadway show and 1978 movie adaptation, and make the role his own.—
Peter Larsen,
Oc Register,
7 Jan. 2026
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In it, prisoners trapped inside a cave perceive the world only through shadows cast by outside objects.—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sprites.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sprites. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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