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Glite Dictionary
sissyish

sissyish

9.6
Having qualities people think are too feminine and weak
  • adjective
  • /ˈsɪsiɪʃ/
  • Slur
: afeminado
  • His friends teased him for his sissyish love of romantic movies.

Examples

  • The boy's sissyish behavior attracted unwanted attention at school.

  • She disliked the sissyish decorations chosen for the party.

  • Don't be so sissyish about trying new things!

  • He has a sissyish way of speaking.

  • His friends teased him for his sissyish love of romantic movies.

  • She disliked the sissyish decorations chosen for the party.

  • The boy's sissyish behavior attracted unwanted attention at school.

Synonyms

feminine
vssissyish
148 3.4

Having style or qualities people often connect with women

is a negative or mocking term focusing on excessive or inappropriate femininity
girlie
vssissyish
  • Informal
29 5.6

Made for girls with a very feminine, young style

is about personality or behavior judged as overly feminine rather than design
girlish
vssissyish
20 3.5

Having innocent, playful ways like a young girl

is critical about maturity and sees those traits as inappropriately feminine
effeminate
vssissyish
  • Offensive
15 7.5

A male who looks or acts like a woman

is a disapproving label stressing inappropriate feminine traits in a person
girly
vssissyish
  • Informal
4 7.5

A casual, often teasing word for a girl who likes very feminine things

is a disapproving or mocking comment about being too feminine
superfeminine
vssissyish
1 7.6

A very traditional women's style with pink clothes and lots of makeup

is used to complain that femininity is excessive rather than neutral

Antonyms

strong
∞ 1.0

Having great power or influence over people

masculine
87 3.7

Having qualities people often connect with men, for example strength and toughness

How Feminine

feminine
148 3.4
sissyish
  • Slur
9.6
girlish
20 3.5

Surface Forms

sissyish positive

Morphology

sissyish = sissy (transparent) = sissy + ish

Formed by the productive suffix '-ish' added to the familiar word 'sissy' meaning 'somewhat like a sissy', which is readily inferable by learners.

Etymology

Sissyish comes from sissy, which began as a child's form of sis or sister and later became a word used to call a boy 'like a girl'. So sissyish means having qualities people see as too feminine or 'not manly'.