1
: a member of a Muslim religious order noted for devotional exercises (such as bodily movements leading to a trance)
2
: one that whirls or dances with or as if with the abandonment of a dervish
Examples of dervish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For much of the past week, all that Colombia had been able to agree upon was the pre-eminence of Luis Diaz, who remained a whirling dervish throughout the match as his side’s outstanding player.
—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Admittedly, on its best day, Penn Station feels like a whirling dervish.
—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
But in the early days of the Maniacs, everyone swears that Merchant was a shrieking dervish during shows, exorcising her teenage demons on the stage of every bar in the Rust Belt.
—
Dan Kois,
Pitchfork,
17 May 2026
In Rosenblatt’s script and Lithgow’s dazzling performance, Dahl is a kind of dervish of disdain, who projects his repressed fury onto others.
—
John Lahr,
New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dervish
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.
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Admittedly, on its best day, Penn Station feels like a whirling dervish.
—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
But in the early days of the Maniacs, everyone swears that Merchant was a shrieking dervish during shows, exorcising her teenage demons on the stage of every bar in the Rust Belt.
—
Dan Kois,
Pitchfork,
17 May 2026
In Rosenblatt’s script and Lithgow’s dazzling performance, Dahl is a kind of dervish of disdain, who projects his repressed fury onto others.
—
John Lahr,
New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dervish
Cite this Entry
“Dervish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dervish. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dervish
noun
der·vish
ˈdər-vish 
: a member of a Muslim religious group noted for its customs (as bodily movements leading to a trance)
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
