Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use elfin in a sentence

11 example sentences · noun, adjective

Elfin means an elf; an inhabitant of fairy-land. Example: “She was one of those elfin, rather precocious little girls, quick coloured, with dark hair, naturally curling dusky hair that was sometimes astray over her eyes, and eyes that were sometimes impishly dark, and sometimes a clear brown yellow.”

Examples of elfin by meaning

adjectiveResembling an elf or elves, especially in tiny size or features.

  • She was one of those elfin, rather precocious little girls, quick coloured, with dark hair, naturally curling dusky hair that was sometimes astray over her eyes, and eyes that were sometimes impishly dark, and sometimes a clear brown yellow.1908, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “Of Bladesover House, and My Mother; and the Constitution of Society”, in Tono-Bungay […], Toronto, Ont....
  • Smith is aided in his quest by an elfin, time-jumping alien with psychic powers played by another Coen brothers veteran, A Serious Man star Michael Stuhlbarg.2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club
  • She was one of the shortest members of staff, though seven inches above beneath the positively elfin Delfina Ibanez, and yet Lillian found her inexplicably difficult to shake.2022 September 22, HarryBlank, “Mind Over Matter”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 23 May 2024

More sentences with elfin

  • And I can see you, my elfin beloved, the stars are like your nosepin.1996, Ravi Shankar -, The Scream of the Dragonflies: And Other Stories, page 218. From the entry nosepin
  • She was the shortest member of staff, two inches beneath the positively elfin Delfina Ibanez, and yet Lillian found her inexplicably difficult to shake.2022 September 22, HarryBlank, “Mind Over Matter”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 23 May 2024. From the entry short
  • That's why elvish swordmages can use elfin chain - it is a 'magical' metal, one which acts as a magical superconductor and an electrical semiconductor.1998 September 22, Autolycus, “Mages/armour rules”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet). From the entry swordmage
  • Amidst the aseptically-perfumed bare functionality, typifying a hospital ward, a pretty and petite elfin teenage girl stirs – tawny hair all tousled and bed-headed, lips full yet petulant.2009, Garth P Toyntanen, Institutionalized 2, page 11. From the entry bed-headed
  • The elfin bodyguard stared for a moment with those cool eyes through the silver tinted razorbladed glasses before proficiently shifting his right hand toward the earphone comm.2003, J. R. Urie, Assassin's Vendetta, page 14. From the entry proficiently
  • One is tempted to call them elfin, for what kind of men would struggle up those backbreaking slopes all their maizebread goatmilk days to achieve such loneliness?1997, Taufiq Rafat, “Lights”, in Muneeza Shamsie, editor, A Dragonfly in the Sun: An Anthology of Pakistani Writing in English, Karachi…. From the entry maizebread
  • Music discoursed on that melodious instrument, a Jew's harp, keeps the elfin women away from the hunter, because the tongue of the instrument is of steel.1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Volume II, Part II, Chapter V, p. 233. From the entry discourse
  • Here too are the false morels (genus Gyromitra) and elfin saddles (genus Helvella), which are generally regarded — or suspected — to be poisonous when consumed, especially if eaten raw.2003, William C. Roody, Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians, page 477. From the entry elfin saddle

Meaning of elfin

  1. noun An elf; an inhabitant of fairy-land.
  2. noun A little urchin or child.
  3. noun Any of the butterflies in the subgenus Incisalia of the North American lycaenid genus Callophrys.

Full definition of elfin

Questions about elfin in a sentence

How do you use elfin in a sentence?
Elfin is used as a noun and adjective. For example: “She was one of those elfin, rather precocious little girls, quick coloured, with dark hair, naturally curling dusky hair that was sometimes astray over her eyes, and eyes that were sometimes impishly dark, and sometimes a clear brown yellow.”
What is a short sentence with elfin?
“And I can see you, my elfin beloved, the stars are like your nosepin.”
What does elfin mean?
Elfin means an elf; an inhabitant of fairy-land.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: elfin (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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