Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🐭 Full of mice 🟫 Dull brown-grey 😶 Shy and quiet
mousey

mousey

7.2
A quiet shy person who does not speak up
  • adjective
  • /ˈmaʊsi/
  • Offensive
translation icon : apocado
  • "Hello, Jerry," I said, looking at his new wife, who was rather mousey but pleasant.

Examples

  • Despite her talent, she remained mousey in meetings, rarely voicing her opinions.

  • He had a mousey demeanor, always avoiding eye contact and speaking softly.

  • Also, Anderson is too weak and mousey to stand up to Repug lies, so shouldn't be allowed to do interviews with the wingnuts.

    Blog text (19)

  • The mousey girl sat in the corner, too shy to join the conversation.

Synonyms

timid
vsmousey
60 3.5

Shy and afraid to do new or risky things

adds a sense of being ineffectual in manner or general appearance
wimpy
vsmousey
  • Offensive
24 5.7

Lacking strength, courage, or strong flavor

leans more toward timidness and ineffectual manner than physical weakness
wussy
vsmousey
  • Offensive
6 9.4

Not brave or willing to try new things

is more about shy, ineffectual manner and plain appearance rather than insult
mousy
vsmousey
5 5.9

Quiet and shy, not confident in groups

stresses ineffectual manner or appearance as well as timid behaviour
mouselike
vsmousey
4.8

Having small, quiet movements or a very soft voice like a mouse

focuses more on timidness and ineffectual social manner than literal looks
timid as a mouse
vsmousey
  • Informal
4.9

Feels very shy and nervous around people

includes the same fear but adds being ineffectual in manner or appearance

Antonyms

confident
715 2.5

Feeling sure about yourself or what will happen

assertive
42 4.2

Showing confidence when saying what you want or think

How Shy

timid
60 3.5
shy
343 1.0
mousey
  • Offensive
7.2
reserved
3.7
quiet
189 1.0

Surface Forms

mousey positive

Morphology

mousey = mouse (semi-transparent) = mouse + y

Derived metaphorically from 'mouse' to describe a timid or ineffectual person; the metaphor is common but not strictly literal.

Etymology

Mousey comes from mouse and the ending -y, meaning 'like a mouse'. Since mice are quiet and shy, a mousey person is timid and tends to stay in the background.