whippersnapper

noun

ˈ(h)wi-pər-ˌsna-pər How to pronounce whippersnapper (audio)
Definition of whippersnappernext
as in dwarf
a person of no importance or influence some young whippersnapper piped up with a pointless comment

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 whippersnapper The tree was probably a young whippersnapper when the city was founded in 1836, McBain figures. — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026 And the Sharks have no obvious replacement for him — no young whippersnapper in the pipeline ready for his moment. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 30 Dec. 2025 And Markey has defeated whippersnapper-type political foes before. — David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025 The reasons for the show’s appeal are manifold, starting with the odd-trio chemistry of the three leads (Short, plus his longtime co-conspirator Steve Martin and relative whippersnapper Selena Gomez). — Damon Wise, Deadline, 8 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for whippersnapper
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whippersnapper
  1. dwarf
  2. cipher
  3. nobody
  4. lightweight
  5. insect
  6. twerp
Noun
  • While most citrus trees are too large for indoor growing, there are a few small or dwarf varieties of citrus that can be kept indoors year-round in pots.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 16 Oct. 2026
  • These explosions, known as hypernovas, were first proposed to explain unusual stars in the halo of our galaxy, the Milky Way, and in a neighboring dwarf galaxy.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of dwarf
Noun
  • There’s that vibrancy and, on the other side of the ledger, dead boys, ciphers, unfinished or unfinishable quests.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • But in my view, our relationships to animals, whose lives are untouched by the existential woes and artifices of personhood, are the richest and most evident ciphers for our own often inscrutable psyches.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 June 2026
Definition of cipher
Noun
  • In the trailer, the civilians are selling themselves as a new breed of nobodies.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Despite the tragicomic instability and the rotating cast of nobodies temporarily tasked with running the country, when seen in macroeconomic terms, Peru appears to be doing just fine, thank you.
    — Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
Definition of nobody
Noun
  • In four debates, Collins worked to portray Jackson as an angry lightweight who wouldn’t be effective in the Senate.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Burberry x Smythson notebooks are filled with Smythson’s signature blue lightweight paper, while the opening and closing pages feature a London map print inspired by the fall 2026 Burberry runway collection, or the house check.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of lightweight
Noun
  • The campaign that originally eradicated screwworm relied on what’s known as the sterile insect technique.
    — Robert Kelly, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The goal is to detect and head off an infestation of the invasive insect next year, county officials said.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of insect
Noun
  • In a January 2025 episode with guest Drew Afualo, a social media influencer, Kylie Kelce quipped about the same mystery twerp from her high school days.
    — Owen Carry, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Once a sky-blue democracy is restored, may Trump’s days of infamy be ruled illegitimate and his name and legacy duly tainted by all of history, darkly blackened or cautiously reddened in the honest records that this twerp and his twisted cohorts have conspired so heinously to whitewash.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026
Definition of twerp

Browse Nearby Words

whippers
whippersnapper
whippersnappers
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Cite this Entry

“Whippersnapper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whippersnapper. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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