1
as in student
one who attends a school
generally there are 20 pupils in each class
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in adherent
one who follows the opinions or teachings of another
to pupils of the philosopher Henry David Thoreau, the shores of Walden Pond are hallowed ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pupil
The statement did not say how old the abducted schoolchildren are but the term ‘pupil’ in Nigeria usually refers to someone in kindergarten or primary school, typically covering ages up to 12.
—
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Sometimes a person opens the top of their skull to reach inside; in her painting Threading the Story Through the Eye of a Needle (circa 1974), a hand pulls a line of thread through a pupil, towing two tiny people in a boat, suggesting both sight and an idea made manifest.
—Nicole Rudick, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
The star pupil who will likely only get better.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
Each child who enrolls in Success Academy will draw in state per-pupil dollars with them, redirecting funding away from the district.
—Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pupil
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Sometimes a person opens the top of their skull to reach inside; in her painting Threading the Story Through the Eye of a Needle (circa 1974), a hand pulls a line of thread through a pupil, towing two tiny people in a boat, suggesting both sight and an idea made manifest.
—Nicole Rudick, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
The star pupil who will likely only get better.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
Each child who enrolls in Success Academy will draw in state per-pupil dollars with them, redirecting funding away from the district.
—Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pupil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pupil
Noun
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The Zion Phelps story is going to be told over and over at Loyola High to show students what can happen when someone discovers potential and decides to take a chance to bring it out.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
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In 2014, the neuroscientist Anat Arzi was a graduate student at the Weizmann Institute of Science.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
Noun
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He’d been struck that the Milwaukee branch of the adherents to his cause were forever boasting about their superior sanitation systems.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
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TikTok obsessives, wellness-culture adherents, and misinformation junkies all end up in need of care.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Van Bendegem, who would become a leading scholar on ultrafinitist logic, later addressed these concerns by considering a geometry in which a line or curve has width and is both finite and finitely divisible.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
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Ted Kaptchuk, an acupuncturist and leading scholar of the placebo effect, has described this phenomenon in detail.—
Hannah Kerman,
STAT,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Kyle Shanahan disciple understands that a strong run game is a rookie quarterback’s best friend.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Then last June, the Nuggets snatched Wallace back from Minnesota, hiring him as their new co-general manager alongside his friend Ben Tenzer — another longtime Connelly disciple who’d been a steady hand behind the scenes in Denver’s front office since 2013.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Artists affiliated with the Wide Awakes have adopted the original group’s open-eye iconography to symbolize the new wave of followers’ social awakening.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
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Streamers may have a variety of sources of income, including sponsorship, donations from followers, affiliate links, selling merchandise, and tournament winnings.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pupil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pupil. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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