changelingnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈtʃeɪndʒ.lɪŋ/us/ˈtʃeɪndʒ.lɪŋ/(especially in stories) a baby who is secretly used to take the place of another baby
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Faking & pretending
- a wolf in sheep's clothing idiom
- affect
- assume
- believe
- bluff
- charlatan
- falsify
- feign
- fraud
- go through the motions idiom
- guise
- phoney
- play at sth
- play possum idiom
- play sth out
- play-acting
- professed
- purport
- put sth on
- quack
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Mythological & legendary characters
Examples from literature
- Devilish changelings, Luther said, were often placed by Satan in the cradles of human children.
- Fairy changelings may be recognized by tricky habits, constant crying, and other unusual characteristics.
- Of course the witches had swooped down upon the lad and put the straw changeling in his place!
- T he elves once took a child away from its mother, and left in its place a changeling with a big head and staring eyes, who did nothing but eat and drink.
- They also stole babies, leaving in their place changelings, goblins who were old in wickedness while still in the cradle, possessing superhuman cunning and skill in music.