Thesaurus results for AYAH

ayah

noun

Definition of ayah

as in amah

Related 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 ayah This was a place where other Asians also found a home, notably lascars from India and East Africa, and ayahs abandoned by their English employers after the long sea voyage. — Hari Kunzru, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ayah

Noun

In colonial days, many families had a lifelong helper known as an amah (after the Portuguese word for nurse).

— Time, Time, 23 Jan. 2018

Definition of amah

Noun

Social workers, nurses, therapists, and home health aides provide care that depends not simply on technical skill, but on empathy, dignity, and compassion.

— Scott Levenson, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
The high amount of overtime at the mental health department is related mainly to nurses working at the state’s mental health hospitals, Whiting and Connecticut Valley Hospital, which are both in Middletown.

— Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of nurse

Noun

The prosecutor argued the beatings basically never stopped, claiming footage showed nannies beating one child, then turning their violence toward any of the other toddlers who wept while watching.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Vanessa offers to be their child’s nanny and to take care of everything so that Serena can focus on her job, which makes Serena feel guilty.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of nanny

Browse Nearby Words

ayah

ayahs

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ayah.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ayah. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ayah

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on ayah

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

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

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes