variants
also elephant
as in whales
something or someone that is unusually large and powerful
by any standard, the new shopping mall will be an elephant and one that is certain to alter the retail landscape
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elephants
The 308-pound calf was the first elephant born at the zoo in almost 25 years and only the third elephant birth in the zoo’s 136-year history.
—
Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2026
Zimbabwe’s biggest national park also houses large elephant populations and more than 400 bird species.
—Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 11 Feb. 2026
For his latest documentary the German filmmaker behind Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams follows conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on his obsessive quest to find the mythical ghost elephants of Lisima in the highlands of Angola.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 10 Feb. 2026
The kids just have to love the green table with matching chairs shaped like giraffes and elephants.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
Spike had sired three elephant calves at other zoos, but none survived.
—Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 4 Feb. 2026
And there was also a desire to personalize the elephants.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
And the elephants just lost their job.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2025
The elephant is, quite appropriately, according to Jonathan Haidt’s beloved analogy for Daniel Kahneman’s System 1 / System 2 duo, the emotion itself.
—Tim Maurer, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2026
Zimbabwe’s biggest national park also houses large elephant populations and more than 400 bird species.
—Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 11 Feb. 2026
For his latest documentary the German filmmaker behind Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams follows conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on his obsessive quest to find the mythical ghost elephants of Lisima in the highlands of Angola.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 10 Feb. 2026
The kids just have to love the green table with matching chairs shaped like giraffes and elephants.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
Spike had sired three elephant calves at other zoos, but none survived.
—Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 4 Feb. 2026
And there was also a desire to personalize the elephants.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
And the elephants just lost their job.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2025
The elephant is, quite appropriately, according to Jonathan Haidt’s beloved analogy for Daniel Kahneman’s System 1 / System 2 duo, the emotion itself.
—Tim Maurer, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elephants
Noun
-
The whales are selling up, according to Jefferies analyst Andrew Moss.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
-
With the storm and dead whales came polar bears.—
Scott Haugen,
Outdoor Life,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Tree ferns, survivors from the age of the dinosaurs, towered above.—
Betsy Andrews,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
-
From tiny proto‑dinosaurs like Marasuchus to giants like Plateosaurus and Mamenchisaurus, 'The Dinosaurs' runs the gamut, illustrating how dinosaurs evolved across millennia in response to a volatile world.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Meta was one of the major Big Tech firms that went big on open-sourcing with its Llama model in early 2023, though most US giants have largely eschewed that approach in order to protect their intellectual property.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Tech giants have repeatedly relied on Section 230, a federal law that shields them from liability over content that their users post, as a defense against safety claims.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Unlike many slow-moving urban mammoths, this could be a model for how to integrate local desires with capitalist imperatives to deliver your friendly neighborhood megaproject.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Savvy ancestors As mammoths and elephants were rare in prehistoric England, the discovery highlights the advanced cognitive skills of early humans.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Monster High centers around a fictional high school attended by the teenage children of famous monsters and has expanded into various forms of media thus far.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Original characters will return to fight new monsters and solve a paranormal mystery.—
Marina Johnson,
IndyStar,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elephants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elephants. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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