as in beggar
a young person who is thin and appears homeless or impoverished
the sad sight of waifs on the street
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waif
Diminutive Darcy Rose Byrnes makes for a terrific waif of a hotel maid, her presence central to the action.
—
Christopher Smith, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2025
The immortal embarrassment of Nosferatu The arduous, debilitating affair between melancholic 1830s waif Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and her vampire lover-enemy Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård, under tons of prosthetics) begins with deception.
—Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 10 Jan. 2025
Working with Erivo in particular, Hannon, costume designer Paul Tazewell, and their teams found ways to show that Elphaba is no waif at the start of her journey.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 23 Dec. 2024
This tiny, doe-eyed waif is the one making things deeply and unpleasantly weird in an interaction with her very powerful boss.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
Who wouldn’t dream of being the waif led to heaven by a dangerous love?
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Shelley Duvall, the saucer-eyed, rail-thin waif who starred in seven films directed by her mentor, Robert Altman, and avoided the ax wielded by an unhinged Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, died Thursday.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 July 2024
But that was before director Denis Villeneuve wowed audiences by cutting the first book in half and plopping Hollywood's hardest-working waif (Timothée Chalamet) into an unforgiving landscape riddled with monstrous, holy worms.
—EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023
Meanwhile, the emerging popularity of the waif threatened to undermine the supermodels’ status.
—Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2023
Christopher Smith, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2025
The immortal embarrassment of Nosferatu The arduous, debilitating affair between melancholic 1830s waif Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and her vampire lover-enemy Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård, under tons of prosthetics) begins with deception.
—Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 10 Jan. 2025
Working with Erivo in particular, Hannon, costume designer Paul Tazewell, and their teams found ways to show that Elphaba is no waif at the start of her journey.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 23 Dec. 2024
This tiny, doe-eyed waif is the one making things deeply and unpleasantly weird in an interaction with her very powerful boss.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
Who wouldn’t dream of being the waif led to heaven by a dangerous love?
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Shelley Duvall, the saucer-eyed, rail-thin waif who starred in seven films directed by her mentor, Robert Altman, and avoided the ax wielded by an unhinged Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, died Thursday.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 July 2024
But that was before director Denis Villeneuve wowed audiences by cutting the first book in half and plopping Hollywood's hardest-working waif (Timothée Chalamet) into an unforgiving landscape riddled with monstrous, holy worms.
—EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023
Meanwhile, the emerging popularity of the waif threatened to undermine the supermodels’ status.
—Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waif
Noun
-
The beggars, widows, and families with sick relatives who once made a pilgrimage to the gates of the parliament building in the Green Zone to beg lawmakers for help are now barred from entry.—
Ned Parker,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Feb. 2012
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All the beggars at the intersection of Lee Road and the off-ramp of I-4 are completely out of hand.—
Ticked Off,
Orlando Sentinel,
18 July 2024
Noun
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Daniels’ first foray into the horror genre shot to No. 1 on Netflix after dropping Aug. 30, which may have a little bit — or a whole lot — to do with Close, who clearly had the time of her life playing a tramp named Alberta.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
2 Sep. 2024
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On March 7, 1913, rescuers were desperately searching the same waters for survivors of the Alum Cine, a British tramp steamer, that exploded while being loaded with 350 tons of dynamite (nine boxcars’ worth) that was bound to Panama for construction of the canal that was underway.—
Frederick N. Rasmussen,
Baltimore Sun,
28 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Waif.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waif. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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