waspy

¹

[ wos-pee ]

adjective

, wasp·i·er, wasp·i·est.

1. resembling a wasp; waspish.

Waspy

²

[ wos-pee ]

adjective

, Wasp·i·er, Wasp·i·est.

1. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. of, relating to, or characteristic of WASPs:

   a Waspy country club.

Other Words From

• waspi·ly adverb
• waspi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of waspy¹

First recorded in 1650–60; wasp + -y ¹

Origin of waspy²

First recorded in 1965–70; WASP + -y ¹

Example Sentences

"A story about a Jewish guy from the Bronx living with his shiksa wife" in the waspy world of southern California was, he says, “exactly the right story to be telling post 9/11.”

From Salon

She is a WASPy tradwife before that term was coined on social media.

From Salon

"You see, for my father here, a poor struggling Jew growing up in the Bronx, well . . . Christmas, it meant Chinese food and movie. And for my mom over here — WASPy McWASP — well, it meant a tree, it meant stockings and all the trimmings."

From Salon

In his memoir, Epps recounts how his mother “bowed her head and softly cried” when she read the article, which was accompanied by a cartoon of Epps submerged in a boiling cauldron of oil flanked by WASPy white folk.

From Los Angeles Times

WASPy curators would have preferred a marker at AD 0 — “Jesus Christ born” — and, indeed, some went ahead and added the Nativity.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cantankerous
• crusty
• grouchy
• grumpy
• ornery