1
as in nickname
a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual
King Richard I of England was given the very laudatory epithet "the Lion-Hearted"
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2
as in insult
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
the school has a strict ban against the use of offensive epithets
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of epithet in a Sentence
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Recent Examples on the Web
In contrast, Trump appointee Amy Joan St. Eve, a white woman, dissented and downplayed the negative consequences of the racial epithets used against the couple.
—
Paul M. Collins Jr., The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2024
An unidentified Gettysburg College student accused of carving a racial epithet on the chest of a teammate is no longer enrolled at the Pennsylvania liberal arts college, the school said over the weekend.
—Dennis Romero, NBC News, 24 Sep. 2024
The wider damage done from employing anti-LGBTQ epithet to hurt Tyler wasn't lost on Eminem, either.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2024
Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce was also suspended for two games in 2017 for uttering a similar epithet toward a fan.
—Matt Geagan, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for epithet 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for epithet
Noun
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In the complete first volume, which appeared in 1854, the Grimms included Wilhelm’s affectionate nickname for his wife, bierlümmel (beer lout).Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
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Kitchens calls her son Serge, a nickname for his full one, Sergio Kitchens.Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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TikTokers take turns being the fleeing suspect and bratty cop, exchanging insults and trying to get under each other’s skin, with some getting pretty personal, but most staying lighthearted.Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
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The insult prompted Richie to break character — and put James in his place.Jackie Fields, People.com, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Lawrence this week telegraphed her political allegiance in cloth, using a Realtree camouflage cap embroidered with the surnames of Harris and Tim Walz in neon orange stitching.Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2024
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One fun note: Two of the leading candidates, Boone and Carpenter, share a surname with past winners in this category.Paul Grein, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Regrettably, the catchy moniker has slinked into our vocabulary, and we are seemingly stuck with it.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
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In fact, another beloved train also, confusingly, operates under the iconic moniker: the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express belongs to Belmond and travels occasionally through Italy.JD Shadel, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Similar to Mean Girls, Clueless delves into the high school hierarchy, with both films using humor and sarcasm to highlight the challenges of fitting in and learning to be true to oneself amidst the chaos of adolescence.Jane LaCroix, People.com, 2 Nov. 2024
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Researchers debuted an 88 percent accurate hate-speech detector and a superior sarcasm detector and may be able to send messages back in time.Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Epithet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/epithet. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
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