namby-pamby
- noun
- /ˈnæm.biˌæm.bi/
- Offensive
- The coach warned the players that there was no room for namby-pamby attitudes on the team.
Examples
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No one respected him because they thought he was just a namby-pamby who couldn't make tough decisions.
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He is such a namby-pamby when it comes to confrontation.
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She refused to be a namby-pamby and stood her ground during the debate.
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Don't be a namby-pamby about this issue!
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He was criticized for being a namby-pamby in the negotiation, avoiding tough decisions.
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Instead of standing up for himself, he acted like a namby-pamby, always deferring to others.
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Many consider her a namby-pamby because she cries easily during emotional movies.
Synonyms
A person who cries or complains too easily
A person who shows strong feelings and is easily moved
A person who shows strong feelings easily and is not tough
A person who feels emotions too easily and shows them
A person who is weak and lacks courage or strength
A person who is too weak or afraid to act
How Tough
Surface Forms
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.