epithet
noun
ep·i·thet
ˈe-pə-ˌthet 
also -thət
1
a
: a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing
b
: a disparaging or abusive word or phrase
c
: the part of a taxonomic name identifying a subordinate unit within a genus
2
obsolete
: expression
Did you know?
Nowadays, epithet is usually used negatively, with the meaning "a disparaging word or phrase," but it wasn't always that way. Epithet comes from Greek epitithenai, meaning "to put on" or "to add." In its oldest sense, epithet is simply a descriptive word or phrase, especially one joined by fixed association to the name of someone or something, as in "Ivan the Great" or the Homeric phrase "wine-dark sea."
Synonyms
Examples of epithet in a Sentence
His charitable works have earned him the epithet “Mr. Philanthropy.”
Many were offended by her use of racial epithets.
a group of angry people hurling epithets at one another
Recent Examples on the Web
Today, the term is more often used as a negative epithet—but on her wise and poignant R&B album Heaux Tales, Jazmine Sullivan celebrates gossip’s emotional significance, showing the revelations and self-explorations that arise when women nurture community.
—
Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Risqué language and colorful ethnics epithets flowed as liberally as the liquor, drawing the ire of a nearby diner who, while not nearly as famous, was at least as wealthy and possibly more influential.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Sep. 2024
The organization abandoned its name of over eight decades, the Red Skins, which many Native Americans viewed as a racist epithet.
—Greg McKenna, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024
If the flipping of this script began with Walz’s epithet, the convention is completing the turnover.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for epithet 
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Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Risqué language and colorful ethnics epithets flowed as liberally as the liquor, drawing the ire of a nearby diner who, while not nearly as famous, was at least as wealthy and possibly more influential.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Sep. 2024
The organization abandoned its name of over eight decades, the Red Skins, which many Native Americans viewed as a racist epithet.
—Greg McKenna, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024
If the flipping of this script began with Walz’s epithet, the convention is completing the turnover.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for epithet
Dictionary Entries Near epithet
Cite this Entry
“Epithet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epithet. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
epithet
noun
ep·i·thet
ˈep-ə-ˌthet
1
a
: a word or phrase (as Lionhearted in "Richard the Lionhearted") that expresses a quality thought to be characteristic of a person or thing
b
: a word or name used as a term of abuse
2
: the part of a taxonomic name identifying a subordinate unit within a genus
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