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
-
Doug and Big Jane eventually retired down in San Antonio, close to their boys.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
18 Feb. 2026
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Around the same time, Bell Telephone hired teenage boys to work as switchboard operators, an obvious recipe for disaster.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Even when rehearsals began at an old film studio in East London, Daldry and his creative team weren’t sure which lads would make the grade.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Mescal, Keoghan, Quinn, and Dickinson are each headlining their own respective Beatles film, which will dive deep into the minds of the Liverpudlian lads who changed music forever.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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As the game entered stoppage time, the algorithm was on course for a rare correct scoreline, but then Wolves teenager Tom Edozie struck and Arsenal substitute Riccardo Calafiori could only divert the ball into the net, blowing the title race wide open.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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In the 2010s, the Daily Mail published an archive photo Giuffre took with Andrew and his longtime associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, as a teenager.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The kids couldn’t receive direct messages from non-followers and algorithms would be adjusted so they couldn’t be targeted by specific advertisements.—
Carole Carlson,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
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School nutrition staff and vendors use the event to test new recipes and get feedback from the very kids who will be eating them.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Unfolding in 1870s Oxford and venturing abroad, the series will expose the early antics of the anarchic adolescent who is yet to evolve into Baker Street’s most renowned resident.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
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People who support keeping gender-affirming surgery available to adolescents often point to the high rates of cisgender young people who receive analogous surgeries like breast reductions.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stripling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stripling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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