wuss

noun

ˈwu̇s 

variants or less commonly wussy

ˈwu̇-sē 

plural wusses also wussies

informal

: a weak, cowardly, or ineffectual person : wimp

Don't be such a wuss.

acted like a total wuss

I am not a wuss; I refuse to be undone by fear.

—Joline Godfrey

I'm a wuss when it comes to pain. I did not wish to lose body parts.

—Chuck Gallagher

You don't like turtlenecks? You say they're too tight? What are you, some wussy?

—Frank Cammuso and Hart Seely

… it can be galling to watch grown men pretend to be hurt. It's one thing to embellish a penalty, and another to act as though you are in pain when you are not. Maybe there are places where toughness is not a virtue and lying is not a vice, but, wherever you are, being a wuss is being a wuss.

—Nick Paumgarten

wussy adjective

wussier; wussiest

Nation building was for wussy foreign-policy sociologists; the military's job was to "fight and win" wars.

—Joe Klein

It's pretty much hard rock, with a couple wussy songs.

—Rob Sheffield

Synonyms

• softy
• softie
• weakling
• wimp

Examples of wuss in a Sentence

Don't be such a wuss.

teased him for being a wuss when he failed the push-up test in gym class

Recent Examples on the Web

Of the two sisters in the yellow house, Paula is a much gentler girl, a wuss, a baby, the biggest chicken—that’s how her sister thinks of her—and Rhonda is the boss. —Alex Mar, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2023

Teach, who carries a gun, is a wuss about the rain. —New York Times, 14 Apr. 2022

My girlfriend, Rachel, who is not a food wuss like me, unhesitatingly and hopefully tried the stuff. —Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2021

While thinking of ways to be less of a wuss about cutting squashes, I was reminded of the life story of Peter Gordon, one of the top chefs and food writers in New Zealand. —Bee Wilson, WSJ, 17 Oct. 2020

That simply wouldn’t have happened in 2018’s Republican Party, where Nixon probably would have been dismissed as a low-energy wuss. —Will Bunch, Philly.com, 4 Feb. 2018

Camp 1 includes those who lament the wuss-ification of the game. —Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 31 Aug. 2017

For you wusses who think otherwise, the Flip-n-Drip should be live on the site soon for $45. —Charlie Sorrel, WIRED, 31 Aug. 2009

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above