paper tiger

noun

: one that is outwardly powerful or dangerous but inwardly weak or ineffectual

Examples of paper tiger in a Sentence

The new laws are just paper tigers without any method of enforcement.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Assad's fall is an embarrassment to both Moscow and Tehran, the latter of which is increasingly exposed as a paper tiger with the degradation of Hezbollah and Hamas. —

Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024 As Israel continues to pound leadership bunkers and weapons caches at will from uncontested airspace — at the cost of hundreds of civilian lives in Lebanon — the Lebanese Shiite militia has been revealed as a paper tiger. —

Robert Grenier, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 Washington would be unwise to test the theory that China is a paper tiger that would back down in the face of concerted American action. —

Ryan Hass, Foreign Affairs, 9 July 2024 The problems are far beyond the Center being a paper tiger or a rudderless ship. —

Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 7 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for paper tiger