1
as in fairies
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers
the child insisted that he'd seen a sprite hiding in the garden
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in spirits
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
told hair-raising stories of sprites and spectral ships
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of sprites
This livestream is well worth a watch, with active chat users often sharing timestamps of meteor sightings and occasionally rarer phenomena like atmospheric sprites!
—
Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 21 Apr. 2026
On Friday, April 10, when those winged sprites took to the War Memorial Opera House stage for a seven-performance run, the whole tartan-and-gossamer fable felt more alive than ever.
—Rachel Howard, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Apr. 2026
The video chip’s control registers, screen bitmaps, text-screen data, default and custom character sets, sprites, and color information all live in different locations scattered across memory, with some data actually living in separate RAM and ROM chips.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Sep. 2025
Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 21 Apr. 2026
On Friday, April 10, when those winged sprites took to the War Memorial Opera House stage for a seven-performance run, the whole tartan-and-gossamer fable felt more alive than ever.
—Rachel Howard, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Apr. 2026
The video chip’s control registers, screen bitmaps, text-screen data, default and custom character sets, sprites, and color information all live in different locations scattered across memory, with some data actually living in separate RAM and ROM chips.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprites
Noun
-
And creatures — fairies, a faun, the unforgettable Pale Man, with eyes in the palms of his hands — reveal a world of deeper and darker enchantment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
-
According to traditional folklore, finding a ring of mushrooms on your property means that fairies have been at work.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Activist spirits might dismiss this emphasis on the purely sonic as a strategy of avoidance, although the likes of Feizabadi and Kourliandski can’t be accused of sitting idly by.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
There are flavored vodkas like strawberry and blueberry, agave spirits and gin.—
Emily M. Olson,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
There’s also caviar and cookies and Christmas trees and Housewives and Bravolebrities, all surrounded by twink elves in Christmas G-strings.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
-
The company behind that trio of elves, some of the most iconic mascots in pop culture, is the same corporation that put breakfast on the table in the first place.—
Heather Bushman,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The museum site has been a paranormal hotbed for decades, with sightings of apparitions, security camera footage capturing items flying off shelves, as well as experiences from staff members and visitors.—
Gregory Harutunian,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
There certainly seem to be apparitions in this music, some presence apart from the four musicians and the throngs of fans, which is intensified by the visceral collision of so many sounds.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In recent weeks, social media users, especially on X, have been noticing increasing references to goblins, along with other fantasy creatures such as gremlins, ogres and trolls in ChatGPT’s answers to user queries.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Anecdotal evidence on social media shows some users complaining about GPT’s penchant for focusing on goblins in completely unrelated conversations in recent days.—
Kyle Orland,
ArsTechnica,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
What is Wuthering Heights without ghosts?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 May 2026
-
His journey will unravel past ghosts and future misdeeds.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Big money, uneven returns Steyer’s spending dwarfs every other candidate.—
Grace Hase,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Look for taller varieties and avoid dwarfs.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
However, the actor does most of the heavy lifting, even as Nemes’ aesthetic approach drowns the frame in striking shadows — a contrast made deep and inviting by Mátyás Erdély’s 35mm photography.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 May 2026
-
Craters, shadows and rugged lunar terrain that were barely visible to the naked eye suddenly came alive in remarkable detail.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sprites.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sprites. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
