sentinel

noun

ˈsent-nəl How to pronounce sentinel (audio)
Definition of sentinelnext
as in guardian
a person or group that watches over someone or something a lone sentinel kept watch over the fort

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sentinel The observatory has spent over two decades as a sort of orbital sentinel that scans the cosmos for gamma-ray bursts, ready to quickly point itself at the short-lived — but insanely powerful — space explosions at a moment's notice. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 26 June 2026 Meanwhile, in Ischia Ponte, the Castello Aragonese stands sentinel over a causeway that connects it to the rest of the island. — Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 24 June 2026 Here and there, fire, wind, and flood would have broken the forest into a mosaic of old and new, grass and forest, shrubs and sentinels. — Literary Hub, 10 June 2026 Dozens of health organizations and research groups have formed an independent surveillance network to track the presence of dangerous pathogens in community wastewater—a sentinel for potential outbreaks. — Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for sentinel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentinel
  1. guardian
  2. guard
  3. custodian
  4. warden
  5. keeper
  6. sentry
Noun
  • Parents or guardians must still claim and activate those accounts before managing them.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • All the accounts of her story agree that this young heiress, named Maria de Lourdes Fernandes, witnessed the deaths of her parents; her guardian then locked her up and drove her to suicide to get her inheritance.
    — Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of guardian
Noun
  • But with the Heat in search of offense and outside shooting, Heat rookie guard Ryan Conwell was called on to play the first meaningful minutes of his NBA career.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
  • His coronation signaled where the genre was headed—away from the pleading old-guard types and toward a more fluid, hardcore hip-hop hybrid.
    — Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of guard
Noun
  • Some of the firm’s most successful investments included decentralized exchange Uniswap and crypto custodian Anchorage Digital.
    — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • She’s worked as an evidence custodian, and then as a deputy, and has served in a variety of roles, like as a detective, crime scene evidence technician and field training officer.
    — Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of custodian
Noun
  • Wasson, by contrast, kicks off by quoting three letters from prisoners in San Quentin, from 1947, addressed to the warden.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Since the story blew up, the warden ordered at least two raids to confiscate anything brought in illegally, TMZ adds.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of warden
Noun
  • But just as meaningful - if not more so - is witnessing the increasing volume of players who seem like keepers.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Then the Wildcats raced down the field on only five plays to up it to 14-3, scoring on Chiles' keeper.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of keeper
Noun
  • Some of them have panoramic views of white windmills, which dot the coastline of the Taiwan Strait like slender sentries.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • And Ric Salinas, who plays Chachalacani, humorously obliges, bringing his Culture Clash vaudeville skills to the role of the sentry who’s caught between the rock of Klion’s tyranny and his fellow feeling for Antíkona’s sympathetic cause.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of sentry

Browse Nearby Words

sentiments
sentinel
sentinels
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sentinel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentinel. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All