chrysalis
Americannoun
plural
chrysalises, chrysalidesnoun
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the obtect pupa of a moth or butterfly
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anything in the process of developing
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The pupa of certain kinds of insects, especially of moths and butterflies, that is inactive and enclosed in a firm case or cocoon from which the adult eventually emerges.
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The case or cocoon of a chrysalis.
Etymology
Origin of chrysalis
1650–60; < Latin chrȳsalis < Greek chrȳsallís, equivalent to chrȳs- chrys- + -allis suffix, probably with diminutive value
Explanation
A chrysalis is the form a caterpillar takes before it emerges from its cocoon as a fully formed moth or butterfly. The chrysalis has hard skin that's left behind after the caterpillar sheds its soft outer skin. Besides forming itself into a chrysalis, a caterpillar is also able to spin a kind of sticky silk for attaching itself to a branch or leaf. The often gold-colored chrysalis stays attached while undergoing further transformation toward becoming a butterfly. Chrysalis comes from the Greek khrysallis, "golden pupa of the butterfly," from khrysos, "gold."
Vocabulary lists containing chrysalis
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Trefry likened this awkward time of life to the stage in a butterfly’s development when a caterpillar disappears inside a chrysalis and dissolves into goo before reforming into something entirely new.
From Salon • Nov. 24, 2025
Nearly every one of those caterpillars at some point drops from the tree canopy to overwinter or create a chrysalis.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
"By the time we emerged from the chrysalis, we were fully formed," bassist Georgia Davies told the BBC last month.
From BBC • Dec. 7, 2023
Its iridescent casting mold looks almost like a chrysalis awaiting the emergence of a monumental butterfly.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2023
I think of the flower chrysalis and the banners flashing her new face.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
