waif

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The day after she and her husband, Jack, sculpt the figure of a child out of snow, an ethereal waif emerges from the wilderness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

The trial heard him described as a "ruffian" and a "street waif" who never stood still.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025

One might wonder whether the fictional narrative of the beleaguered waif in a judgmental small town is Owens’s way of addressing something in her own past.

From Washington Post • Jul. 13, 2022

Broke, his reputation in tatters, Mr. Keane continued until his death in 2000 to insist that he had painted all the waif pictures.

From New York Times • Jun. 28, 2022

He wanted to stay for another showing, but he remembered the waif.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole