as in night
of, relating to, or occurring in the night he bought a new telescope so he could pursue his favorite nocturnal hobby of astronomy

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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 nocturnal The study, led by Stephen Strader from Villanova University, examined 140 years of tornado records and found that the proportion of all tornado fatalities that occurred during daytime hours decreased 20%, while the nocturnal fatality proportion increased 20% during that time period. Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2025 Uma eventually takes a job as a night janitor at a shipping agency, which forces her into more nocturnal wanderings. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 May 2025 And its nocturnal foraging habits mean better evasive skills against carnivorous predators, including the human kind. Bronwyn Thompson, New Atlas, 25 May 2025 Shearwaters are nocturnal, so every dawn, the scientists go to the beach to find chicks that were too weak and emaciated to make the flight. Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 23 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for nocturnal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nocturnal
night
Adjective
  • The theater hosted rare Milwaukee stops for such performers as Kevin Costner, Dana Carvey and Ray Romano with Brad Garrett, while acts like Cheap Trick, Rick Springfield, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp and the Brian Setzer Orchestra held multi-night residencies.
    Journal Sentinel, Journal Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2023
  • The pair can also arrange multi-night pack trips or erect a camp next to an old miner’s cabin for a backcountry-light experience catered by the house chef.
    Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 4 Feb. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Nocturnal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nocturnal. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.

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