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varmints

noun

plural of varmint
as in bastards
a person whose behavior is offensive to others a seedy saloon that attracts the most low-down, dirty varmints in town

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 varmints Moreover, the official mascots succeed in spotting various varmints — foxes and possums, to be specific, but thankfully, no vultures. — Ed Silverman, STAT, 16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for varmints
  1. dogs
  2. skunks
  3. jerks
  4. clowns
  5. vermin
  6. snakes
  7. rats
Noun
  • Above and below the main narrative of the Bayeux Tapestry are two strips filled with ancient beasts, including tail-chasing dogs and tightly knotted swans.
    — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Understand the leash laws on the trail and be sure to pick a location that allows dogs.
    — Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of dogs
Noun
  • The National Aviary wants your help naming its two new skunk sisters.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • State officials say four goats from Farm Adventures Mobile Petting Zoo were likely exposed by a skunk that went into the pen where they're kept.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of skunks
Noun
  • Lee and his Burning co-writer Oh Jung-mi resist what might have been the first instinct of many filmmakers by refusing to make Ye-ji and Sang-woo overly patronizing rich jerks.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The Ars OpenForum is a place for readers to ask questions, compare notes, argue (without being jerks to each other), and go down all sorts of rabbit holes.
    — Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of jerks
Noun
  • The excessiveness of Ken Russell, Joe Coleman, Tasha Tudor, clowns, migraines, Priscilla Presley, and the Winchester Mystery House.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Circus of the Damned — An evil ringmaster tries to restore his cursed carnival with a new cast of clowns.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of clowns
Noun
  • Homeless encampments, piles of trash, vermin, and car break-ins have bedeviled the 4000 block of Babcock Avenue in Studio City since the property was abandoned, said neighbor Clint Ledsworth.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • How corpulent is this list of filth, vermin and bad food decisions?
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of vermin
Noun
  • With interiors largely shot inside Hossain’s own house in Dhaka, the film is filled with striking shots of animals — lizards galore, snakes, monkeys, and mosquitoes.
    — Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The snakes came to their audition thanks to Nancy Novograd and her company All Tame Animals.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of snakes
Noun
  • Old rats paired with younger ones outlived those paired with animals their own age.
    — Venki Ramakrishnan, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Sazan is a rugged place—strewn with rocks and tangles of trees, populated by a large colony of rats, and studded with bunkers built by the Marxist dictator Enver Hoxha to defend against an imaginary invasion.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of rats

Browse Nearby Words

varmint
varmints
varnish
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Cite this Entry

“Varmints.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/varmints. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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