Meanings
ringwraith1
plural ringwraiths
- A person who is loyal, as if bound or entranced, to a band, group or organization.
...or shandy quaffers at tennis with Joan Hunter-Dunn, even though many of them are mere ringwraiths of the Thomson Empire.
1982, William Ready, Files on Parade: A Memoir, page 2312 more examples
It is twisted out of shape and used for base purposes by the ringwraiths, the bent ones among the intellectuals, for purposes that are transient...
1976, Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, page 192This book, then, is a sort of tribute: an ode to the Himalaya of heavy rock, a paganish take on rock and roll, ringwraiths, and the iconic fetish of the gatefold LP."
2005, Erik Davis, Led Zeppelin IV, page 9
Ringwraith2
plural Ringwraiths
- fantasyAnyone who keeps a magical ring, and is enslaved thereby, and may also be rendered invisible and immortal thereby.
Like the Ringwraiths, I need your acacia unfurled, Enabling my dream-stuns Of fizzing mauve whirls.
2007. Jerry Dowlen, "Lio Lios", 2007, p272 more examples
A party of four at one of my stations included a pretty creditable Scarlett O'Hara in her famous green velvet `curtains' gown, a fairy princess complete with fancy airbrushed wings, a man dressed as either a Ringwraith or the Grim Reaper (I guessed from the absence of a sickle that he was probably a Ringwraith), and George Washington.
2006, J.C. Sillesen, No Return, page 40I had written a number of short stories in the Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents vein, and a couple of fantasy novels that explored the premise of modernized 'Ringwraiths' invading a 1986 Alabama high school."
2007, Mark Stephen Smith, The Art of Flash Animation: Creative Cartooning, page xSynonyms: Nazgul
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAnyone who keeps a magical ring, and is enslaved thereby, and may also be rendered invisible and immortal thereby.
Origin
ringwraith · noun
From Ringwraith (fantasy character), in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings; from ring + wraith.
Full word history & related roots →Ringwraith · noun
From ring + wraith, coined by J. R. R. Tolkien as a fantasy character in The Lord of the Rings.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ringwraith. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ringwraith
“ringwraith.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ringwraith. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ringwraith,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ringwraith.
Source: ringwraith on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.