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namby-pamby
[ nam-bee-pam-bee ]
adjective
- without firm methods or policy; weak or indecisive:
namby-pamby handling of juvenile offenders.
- lacking in character, directness, or moral or emotional strength:
namby-pamby writing.
- weakly sentimental, pretentious, or affected; insipid.
noun
- a namby-pamby person:
written by and for namby-pambies.
- namby-pamby sentiment:
the harmless namby-pamby of a birthday card.
- namby-pamby verse or prose.
namby-pamby
/ ˌnæmbɪˈpæmbɪ /
adjective
- sentimental or prim in a weak insipid way
namby-pamby manners
- clinging, feeble, or spineless
a namby-pamby child
noun
- a person who is namby-pamby
Other Words From
- namby-pambi·ness namby-pamby·ism noun
- namby-pamby·ish adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of namby-pamby1
Word History and Origins
Origin of namby-pamby1
Example Sentences
“We need a food czar who’s tough, not these namby-pamby bureaucrats that don’t really want to ruffle any feathers.”
The tackle was brilliant and set the tone for a proper game of football and not this namby-pamby interpretation of what modernists think the game should be.
Viewers are led to believe that, by refusing to get the shot, they're getting one over on those namby-pamby Democrats.
One that emphasizes the physical over namby-pamby paper-pushing, and speaks to old stereotypes of virility, strength and machismo.
She said her party suffers from "people who have been namby-pamby, lie down and allow the Democrats to walk all over them."
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