as in epithet
a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual
his wavy hair earned him the nickname "Curly" early in life
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nickname
Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Which nickname would win in an actual fight?
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
The conical shape of the gas gave the system its nickname of the Bullet Cluster, which is also appropriate because the second cluster is smaller than the other one and appears to have blasted right through it.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025
Colleagues described a popular chaplain with nicknames for the tiny patients and soothing words for their bleary-eyed parents.
—Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nickname
Verb
Newsom's press office's X account has been regularly posting memes, snarky all-caps messages and using catchy nicknames for his opponents.
—Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Which nickname would win in an actual fight?
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
The conical shape of the gas gave the system its nickname of the Bullet Cluster, which is also appropriate because the second cluster is smaller than the other one and appears to have blasted right through it.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025
Colleagues described a popular chaplain with nicknames for the tiny patients and soothing words for their bleary-eyed parents.
—Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nickname
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nickname
Noun
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On his next broadcast, Maher convened guests like Ice Cube and Michael Eric Dyson to call him to task for using the epithet and to explore the issues about its us.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
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Then there was the woman who was Speaker of the House and would walk around talking to herself, screaming out epithets to imaginary people.—
Larry David,
New Yorker,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Carr has lived up to the warrior moniker.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
18 Sep. 2025
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Two lounges have been renamed, one after legendary player and manager Mo Marley and the other in honour of the team’s original moniker, Leasowe Pacific, the latter the setting of a bottomless brunch hospitality option.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Other big stories ➤ An Arizona lawmaker wants to rename Loop 202 for Charlie Kirk.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Escambia County commissioners unanimously voted to drop a proposal to rename a street in Pensacola after Charlie Kirk.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The emergence of al-Sheikh, who also uses the surname Alalshikh, as the dominant figure in the sport has been a catalyst for many of these changes.—
Sarah Shephard,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
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Yuliia Kaveshnikova/Getty Images The new husband's last name is the same as u//Specken_zee_Doitch's first name, and because the couple have hyphenated each other's surnames, their last names are the same as u//Specken_zee_Doitch's full name.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Nearly every major polling outfit miscalled the 2016 Presidential race.—
Jill Lepore,
The New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2020
Verb
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In some cases, police and lawyers inflict further harm by misgendering and misnaming victims.—
Kristin Lam,
USA TODAY,
20 Nov. 2019
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In the course of the initiative, Nigel Jeffries, MOLA’s ceramics specialist, has come to believe that witch bottles may have not only been miscategorized but misnamed: these bottles were likely medical objects, rather than magical ones.—
Geoff Manaugh,
The New Yorker,
31 Oct. 2019
Verb
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His family told Deadline that Moss died September 15 in Saratoga Springs, NY, but did not specify a cause.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
18 Sep. 2025
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The museum statement didn’t specify further details, citing confidentiality amid an ongoing investigation.—
Peter Guo,
NBC news,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The numbering of the checklist items is only for convenience of reference and does not denote any semblance of priority.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Skill comes from effort Cognitive psychologists have argued that our thoughts and decisions are the result of two processing modes, commonly denoted as System 1 and System 2.—
Brian W. Stone,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nickname.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nickname. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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