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angel

noun

an·gelˈān-jəl How to pronounce angel (audio)

plural angels

religion:a spiritual being serving as a divine messenger and intermediary and often as a special protector of an individual or nation

especially:one in the lowest rank in thecelestial hierarchy see alsoguardian angel

angels plural,religion:an order of angels seecelestial hierarchy

c(1)

:an attendant usually benevolent spirit or guardian

—often used without implication of belief in its supernatural character

"A puttingangel must have come to me during the night because I felt great today and every putt I hit was a great putt," he [Paul McGinley] said.—

Nelson Clare

(2)

:the part of a person's character or nature that is said to guide the person's thoughts and behavior

… here was [Lyndon] Johnson charging straight at a problem, telling his fellow citizens an ugly truth about themselves while trying to invoke thebetter angels of their nature.—

Kevin Baker

[Lamar] Alexander concluded: "In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln appealed to thebetter angels of our nature. If there arebetter angels of our nature, I guess that means there must be worseangels in us as well. …"—

Congressional Documents and Publications

:a usually white-robed winged figure of human form in fine art see alsosnow angel

:messenger,harbinger

anangel of death

The dear goodangel of the Spring, / The nightingale.—

Ben Jonson

:a person who is like an angel (as in looks or behavior)

Your toddler is such anangel.

Be anangel and get me a cup of tea, would you?

Childs is noangel either, and that gives his book its drama.—

George Johnson

Christian Science:inspiration from God

:one who aids or supports with money or influence

Angels are considered one of the oldest sources of capital for start-up entrepreneurs; the term itself, by most accounts, comes from the affluent patrons who used to finance Broadway plays in the early twentieth century.—

Colleen Debaise

Typically,angel investors put up anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 to back a young start-up, and can fund as many as 10 companies at any given time.—

Michael B. Farrell

:angelfish

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples ofangel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

Thank you dear Lord for my forever baby, myangelAidan.—

Hannah Sacks,People.com, 7 Apr. 2025From philanthropy toangelinvesting, wealthy women are using their money to do good and proving that financial power in the right hands changes everything.—

Melissa Houston,Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025Directly inside the entrance, there’s a chapel still presided over by three nuns with details includingangelsthat were added to the niches when the original sculptures were removed during Napoleon’s reign.—

Laura Itzkowitz,Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2025Together Fund led the remaining $3 million tranche, joined byangelinvestors including MassGeneral Hospital for Children division chief Oscar Benavidez, Scan Health Plan CEO Sachin Jain, and Ankit Jain, Infinitus CEO.—

Aaron Weitzman,Axios, 2 Apr. 2025See All Example Sentences forangel