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
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The Casserole Is Bland Another one of the most common green bean casserole mistakes is to choose a recipe that’s a bit too simple, which can result in a bland dish.Jill Schildhouse, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2024
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Early Turning Point memes read as though the organization had hired a Popsicle-stick-joke writer to make bland, conservative-minded witticisms.Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Other checks on Trump’s policy will also be far weaker.Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024
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Each endpoint can be assessed to sniff out weak points.PCMAG, PCMAG, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Don't stand there like a coward, come here and say it.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
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Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it.Christian Holub, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Most of this long flashback segment is pretty boring, though.Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
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Toyota and Honda have at times been called boring: Honda by its own engineers, Toyota more famously by a chairman descended from the company’s founder.Robert Ferris, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Manu San Felix / National Geographic The Solomon Islands have the world’s second-highest coral diversity, with more than 490 species of hard and soft corals.Peter Guo, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
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The decrease is attributed to a reduction in overall volume for OEM customers and a general reduction in demand for orthopedic soft bracing products.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Compared to 88-year-old percussion master Pete Escovedo, Keith Sweat, John Michael Montgomery, Frankie Beverly and the members of the Eagles and Aventura seem like, well, wimps.George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2024
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Blake is not an emasculated wimp; his confidence is complete, his suavity bordering on the toxic.Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Adjective
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Sometimes the video was insipid, but that hardly mattered.David Rowell, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024
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Final flourishes offer confusion: Kora confronts a giant Kali statue (Hindu myth replicating the insipid Issa ideal).Armond White, National Review, 9 Aug. 2024
Noun
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What cinches this daring perspective is actor Andrew Scott’s phenomenal characterization as a weakling who grapples with gradual self-awareness.Armond White, National Review, 29 Dec. 2023
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But in a call with Mr. Licht after the meeting, Mr. Zaslav belittled Mr. Zucker as a weakling who had tears in his eyes, several people with knowledge of the conversation said.Benjamin Mullin, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near namby-pamby
Cite this Entry
“Namby-pamby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/namby-pamby. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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