Synonyms for butterfly

Grammar : Noun, verb

Spell : buht-er-flahy

Phonetic Transcription : ˈbʌt ərˌflaɪ

Top 10 synonyms for butterfly

Other synonyms for the word butterfly

Définition of butterfly

Origin : Old English buttorfleoge, evidently butter (n.) + fly (n.), but of obscure signification. Perhaps based on the old notion that the insects (or witches disguised as butterflies) consume butter or milk that is left uncovered. Or, less creatively, simply because the pale yellow color of many species' wings suggests the color of butter. Another theory connects it to the color of the insect's excrement, based on Dutch cognate boterschijte. An overview of words for "butterfly" in various languages can be found here. Also see papillon.
Applied to persons from c.1600, originally in reference to vain and gaudy attire; by 1806 in reference to transformation from early lowly state; in reference to flitting tendencies by 1873. The swimming stroke so called from 1936. Butterflies "light stomach spasms caused by anxiety" is from 1908.
The butterfly effect is a deceptively simple insight extracted from a complex modern field. As a low-profile assistant professor in MIT's department of meteorology in 1961, [Edward] Lorenz created an early computer program to simulate weather. One day he changed one of a dozen numbers representing atmospheric conditions, from .506127 to .506. That tiny alteration utterly transformed his long-term forecast, a point Lorenz amplified in his 1972 paper, "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?" [Peter Dizikes, "The Meaning of the Butterfly," The Boston Globe, June 8, 2008]

As in insect : noun bug
As in kiss : noun touching lips to another
As in nervousness : noun anxious state
As in trepidation : noun anxiety, worry
As in lady : noun woman
As in stage fright : noun fear of performing onstage
As in caterpillar : noun worm
As in jitters : noun nervous restlessness
As in osculation : noun kiss
As in smacker : noun kiss
As in unease : noun anxiety
As in anxiety : noun worry, tension
As in kiss : verb touch one's lips to another's
As in smooch : verb kiss

Example sentences :

Who, except Cupid, would barter his liberty for a butterfly?
Extract from : « Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10) » by Maria Edgeworth

It was really only a paraphrase of the old story of the grub and the butterfly.
Extract from : « The Fortune Hunter » by Louis Joseph Vance

These men were as far removed from him as the crawling beetle is from the butterfly.
Extract from : « Roden's Corner » by Henry Seton Merriman

Who shall say, however, that the butterfly sees nothing but the flowers?
Extract from : « Roden's Corner » by Henry Seton Merriman

We see the acorn grow into the oak, the egg into the bird, the maggot into the butterfly.
Extract from : « Micah Clarke » by Arthur Conan Doyle

He caught the fancy of the king, knelt down a grub, and rose a butterfly.
Extract from : « Barnaby Rudge » by Charles Dickens

Yes, I fancy now that I saw him go to the 'Butterfly' with a coachman.
Extract from : « L'Assommoir » by Emile Zola

You felt the evening wouldn't be complete without that—after 'Butterfly'?
Extract from : « The Education of Eric Lane » by Stephen McKenna

I have a butterfly net, and have caught some very pretty specimens.
Extract from : « Harper's Young People, July 27, 1880 » by Various

The butterfly's motion is as irregular as any we have except the bat's.
Extract from : « The Meaning of Evolution » by Samuel Christian Schmucker

Antonyms for butterfly

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019