as in nanny
a person employed to care for a young child or children
sent his little son back to his nurse so that he could return to his study to work
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in to mother
to attend to the needs and comforts of
willingly lent a hand to nurse his grandmother in her final years, helping her get from one room to the other and making sure she was warm
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to suckle
to give milk to from the breast
a new mother's decision to nurse her baby
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3
as in to have
to keep in one's mind or heart
he continues to nurse a tender affection for his first girlfriend
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4
as in to baby
to treat with great or excessive care
nursed his sprained ankle for the rest of the week
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5
as in to raise
to bring to maturity through care and education
as foster parents they accepted and nursed 16 needy children over the years
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6
as in to encourage
to help the growth or development of
her teachers did much to nurse her literary talent
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7
as in to spare
to use or give out in stingy amounts
he carefully nursed his energy during the marathon so that he would have something left for the final stretch
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nurse
Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
The nurse literally held my hand through it all.
—Marci Greenberg Cox, Glamour, 31 Mar. 2026
Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
The track marks littering his arms suggest a life devoted to a destructive heroin habit, but Amin’s sister is determined to nurse him back to health, even though this only puts more of a burden on the overworked single mother.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nurse
Noun
Many offices have on-site wellness centers staffed with doctors and nurses.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
The nurse literally held my hand through it all.
—Marci Greenberg Cox, Glamour, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
While my mom stayed in the car to nurse the baby, my father and I went inside, and a nice elderly couple started talking to me in line, just making conversation.
—Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
The track marks littering his arms suggest a life devoted to a destructive heroin habit, but Amin’s sister is determined to nurse him back to health, even though this only puts more of a burden on the overworked single mother.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nurse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nurse
Noun
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One point lifted from Shear’s life was his experience working as a Manhattan family manny (a male nanny).—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2026
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The former South Carolina politician − who resigned from his role as state treasurer in 2007 after pleading guilty to a federal drug charge − was accused of assaulting a former nanny in 2015.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Perhaps pasta or pizza with cheese is so comforting because we’re literally being mothered by flowering plants and bovines?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
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One way to combat that, as a gardener, is to start plants by seed instead of buying plants that someone else has started, watered and mothered for months.—
Henry Homeyer,
The Providence Journal,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The pups have the epicurean delight of suckling one of the highest fat-content milks in the animal kingdom.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
24 Nov. 2025
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Those people under him are suckling on his piggly-wiggly titties.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The Kings never had the defensive activity to disrupt them much.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
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Political experts have also pointed out that Proposition 50 passed with a wide margin, with 64% of of voters approving the measure, so the investigation wouldn't have any impact on the results.—
Laurie Perez,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The brothers were each two years apart in age, but younger siblings were never babied; Nick recalled being on the receiving end of numerous pummelings by his older brothers.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
30 Jan. 2026
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Each new piece was crafted to be simple, functional, and beautiful, giving parents peace of mind and babies a nurturing space to grow.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The school also received a Rotary Club grant, and its PTA also raised a significant amount of money.—
Molly McCrea,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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But the arc — first raising expectations for a big reveal, then declaring there was nothing to see, and ultimately a forced, flawed document dump — was a stubbornly problematic storyline that ran through her time as attorney general.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And there were a number of terrorist organizations that sought to encourage the British to leave, thus creating a united Ireland.—
Colm Tóibín,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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Teammates encouraged her and one even lifted her chin, but the damage was done.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Her early death, after an illness that the father initially contrives to ignore then notices just in time to capture her desperation in a fine sketch, leaves Mimí utterly disoriented, yearning only to achieve a level of self-control and detachment that will spare him their tumultuous struggle.—
Tim Parks,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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The culprit is one of the least snowy winter seasons in California in modern times, and the mountains at Yosemite have not been spared.—
Kurtis Alexander,
San Francisco Chronicle,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nurse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nurse. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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