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namby-pamby

namby-pamby

9.9
A person who is not brave and acts weak
  • noun
  • /ˈnæm.biˌæm.bi/
  • Offensive
translation icon : blandengue (despectivo)
  • The coach warned the players that there was no room for namby-pamby attitudes on the team.

Examples

  • No one respected him because they thought he was just a namby-pamby who couldn't make tough decisions.

  • He is such a namby-pamby when it comes to confrontation.

  • She refused to be a namby-pamby and stood her ground during the debate.

  • Don't be a namby-pamby about this issue!

  • He was criticized for being a namby-pamby in the negotiation, avoiding tough decisions.

  • Instead of standing up for himself, he acted like a namby-pamby, always deferring to others.

  • Many consider her a namby-pamby because she cries easily during emotional movies.

Synonyms

crybaby
vsnamby-pamby
  • Offensive
41 3.7

A person who cries or complains too easily

is broader, meaning overall weak and excessively sentimental rather than childish
softie
vsnamby-pamby
  • Offensive
14 5.8

A person who shows strong feelings and is easily moved

leans further toward showing excess sentiment along with weakness
softy
vsnamby-pamby
  • Offensive
7 6.8

A person who shows strong feelings easily and is not tough

places more weight on feebleness together with excessive sentiment
sentimentalist
vsnamby-pamby
4 7.5

A person who feels emotions too easily and shows them

includes that sentiment but also stresses personal feebleness
pamby
vsnamby-pamby
  • Offensive
4 9.9

A person who is weak and lacks courage or strength

adds an extra note of excessive sentimentality to that weakness
namby
vsnamby-pamby
  • Offensive
2 9.9

A person who is too weak or afraid to act

also highlights being overly sentimental as well as weak

How Tough

stalwart
8 7.1
namby-pamby
  • Offensive
9.9
timid
1 3.5
softie
  • Offensive
14 5.8
weakling
  • Offensive
24 4.4

Surface Forms

namby-pamby singular
namby-pambies plural

Etymology

Namby-pamby comes from the same teasing name for the poet Ambrose Philips, who was nicknamed Namby Pamby when people thought his work was 'soft' and too gentle. That's why a namby-pamby as a person is someone seen as weak, feeble, or unable to make tough choices.