as in boy
a male person who has not yet reached adulthood
the young boxer looked like a mere stripling next to his larger, more seasoned opponent
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Recent Examples of stripling
More important still, thrilling these ultra-cultured striplings means winning over mom and dad, too.
—
Devorah Lev-Tov, Robb Report, 25 June 2023
In Dunst’s hands, Antoinette is naturally happy, an excitable stripling full of life — the sort of protagonist you’d root for simply because the performer inhabiting her is so agreeable.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2021
Best-selling author Margaret George has just published a novel repackaging the Roman emperor Nero, whose name has evoked mayhem and recreational pyromania for the past 2,000 years, as a misunderstood stripling.
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 5 May 2017
Devorah Lev-Tov, Robb Report, 25 June 2023
In Dunst’s hands, Antoinette is naturally happy, an excitable stripling full of life — the sort of protagonist you’d root for simply because the performer inhabiting her is so agreeable.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2021
Best-selling author Margaret George has just published a novel repackaging the Roman emperor Nero, whose name has evoked mayhem and recreational pyromania for the past 2,000 years, as a misunderstood stripling.
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 5 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stripling
Noun
-
No army in history seemed ever to have been more ragged and motley and mongrel and polyglot than the Continental, rich and poor, learned and illiterate, from boys to old men, skilled and unskilled, born all over the world, speaking dozens of languages, believing in different gods and in no god.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Gordon's wife Tana Ramsay also shared a post in honor of Jesse's big day, including more photos of the birthday boy.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Guardiola’s lads look back to their best in the early months of this season after the extended wobble in the previous one that wrecked their hopes of a fifth straight domestic title.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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As a young lad growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Pittsburg, my school uniform consisted of corduroys the color of Ash Wednesday, a white dress shirt and a maroon V-neck sweater.—
Steve Lopez,
Mercury News,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The teenager, who had run away from home and become involved with Chan’s group, described to police a flat where methamphetamine use was constant and violence frequent.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
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I'mPhaedra Trethan, back after a couple of college visits with my teenager, and contemplating this story over my coffee.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The driveway was already full of other cars arriving and various parents and kids taking photos like crazy and squealing.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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They were married in 1968, with Miguel Bezos adopting her young son, and had two more kids, Christina and Mark.—
Vinod Sreeharsha,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Choose the one that works best for your adolescent.—
Dr. Theresa T. Nguyen,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
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Driscoll’s workbook on mental health care for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes also walks through various strategies, including communication and problem-solving skills.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stripling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stripling. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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