1
as in bland
lacking in qualities that make for spirit and character
she's such a namby-pamby nothing that it's no wonder she's never asked out
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weak
lacking strength of will or character
mocked namby-pamby intellectuals who endlessly debate the pros and cons of everything and invariably end up accomplishing nothing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in coward
a person without strength of character
those namby-pambies at city hall are never going to get serious about our crime problem
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Recent Examples of namby-pamby
John B. Judis, The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2023
Adjective
Walzer’s dissent was namby-pamby.
—John B. Judis, The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for namby-pamby
Adjective
-
The new Snow White represents progressive mediocrity — the antagonism between Snow White and her evil stepmother (Gal Gadot) is bland and uninteresting after the remarkable modern version White as Snow that starred Lou de Laâge and Isabelle Huppert.—
Armond White,
National Review,
26 Mar. 2025
-
The whodunit's central mystery is also half-baked: the death of Wynter is as bland as Esposito's character is in flashbacks.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA TODAY,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Murena Pixel Tablet And Third-Party Apps The ecosystem for Android tablets is weaker than that of Android smartphones.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
-
The health infrastructure that the U.S. would have to marshal against them is already weak.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This is a cop novel that fully satisfies its genre expectations — chases, gun battles, sinister bad guys, questionable cops, cowards and heroes.—
Claude Peck,
Boston Herald,
16 Mar. 2025
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If Republicans refuse to do that, then their constituents can rest assured that their representatives are cowards and liars.—
Letters to the Editor,
Orlando Sentinel,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Broberg’s heartbreaking overtime winner Some overtimes are boring, with teams methodically regrouping.—
Harman Dayal,
The Athletic,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Transform boring tasks into challenges with stakes, rewards, and achievements.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Ironically, her swollen face looks plump and round despite her partial buccal fat removal — a procedure that extracts the soft pads of tissue found inside the cheeks to create a slimmer face.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN,
22 Mar. 2025
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Founded in 1879, The Glenrothes is a Speyside single malt producer that often highlights a few key aspects of its whisky production: very soft (low mineral content) water, vibrant and fruity new-make spirit, and the hallmark floral notes that develop in its highly aged stocks.—
David Thomas Tao,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
But the character, in Groening’s view, turned out to be a wimp.—
Darryn King,
Vulture,
17 Dec. 2024
-
The hard labor of making Wabanaki baskets Wabanaki basket-making isn’t for wimps.—
Debra Utacia Krol,
USA TODAY,
29 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Performances range from bad to worse (Jude Law as Captain Hook is permanently running on fumes), Neverland is a dreary landscape of muted greens and browns, and the story becomes an insipid take on an adventurous classic.—
Barry Levitt,
TIME,
21 Mar. 2025
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The framing, blocking, and overall visual grammar have a condescending air, as if directors have surrendered to some insipid idea of who their audience is.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The fact these losers want to jail Andrew and Tristan Tate for preaching their version of traditional masculinity highlights the fact that these fascist feminists are fragile weaklings incapable of defending their position in the free marketplace of ideas.—
David Catanese,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2025
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In Europe the obvious weaklings are Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and DS.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Namby-pamby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/namby-pamby. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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