white elephant

Definition of white elephantnext

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for white elephant
Noun
  • The scene is almost a throwaway in terms of the narrative.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Audiences needn’t know the specifics of the film’s story — or the onslaught of cultural throwaway jokes — to get the narrative gist within the madness.
    Frank Rizzo, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • After spending a few hours soaking up the sun, sail to nearby Sandy Spit, a perfect white dune emerging from the sea that makes for a perfect castaway experience (and a perfect snap for Instagram).
    Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Adapted for television by Adolescence co-creator, Emmy winner Jack Thorne, in Lord of the Flies, innocence descends into savagery when a group of English schoolboys becomes desert island castaways.
    Denise Petski, Deadline, 6 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Consider this top the easiest way to look put together in seconds.
    Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The cell maintains this state with machines called electron transport chains that pump out thousands of protons per second.
    Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Mulhouse Public Prosecutor Nicolas Heitz speaks to the press after a boy was discovered naked and malnourished on a pile of rubbish in a van where he had been kept locked up, in Hagenbach, eastern France, on April 10, 2026.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
  • Stony rubbish, dead trees, the odd corpse in the garden—nothing that couldn’t be absorbed back into the earth.
    Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The three-block stretch, between 16th and 19th avenues, looks markedly different from just a year ago, when tents, abandoned cars and piles of trash crowded the street and sidewalks.
    Da Lin, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Issues cited by residents include drug use, trash and a man with an assault rifle.
    Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Shop sustainable swaps for earth month Making sustainable swaps this Earth Month means choosing reusable, low-waste and eco-friendly alternatives to everyday products.
    Casey DelBasso, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
  • In his own first run with WWE, Cody Rhodes wrestled as spinoff character Stardust, a gimmick that is generally considered a waste of his considerable talent.
    Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Nerves come into play, desperation takes hold, and, for the players, reputations are there to be made as title chases and relegation scraps enter their most crucial stretch.
    Thom Harris, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
  • These materials are dismantled locally, creating jobs and transforming what would have been waste into products like carpet padding, insulation, and items that incorporate scrap steel, all while saving municipalities millions of dollars in disposal costs.
    Dan McGowan, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“White elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white%20elephant. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.

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