twee

[ twee ]

adjective

, Chiefly British.

1. affectedly dainty or quaint:

   twee writing about furry little creatures.

twee

/ twiː /

adjective

1. excessively sentimental, sweet, or pretty

Derived Forms

• ˈtweely, adverb
• ˈtweeness, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of twee¹

1900–05; apparently reduced from tweet (perhaps via pronunciation twiʔ ), mimicking child's pronunciation of sweet

Word History and Origins

Origin of twee¹

C19: from tweet , mincing or affected pronunciation of sweet

Example Sentences

"Everything about Tobias and Almut is so easy and sanitised, so positively twee and precious, that they are borderline unbearable to watch."

From BBC

Despite its heavy subject matter, We Live In Time has been praised as "life-affirming", although other critics have described it as "positively twee".

From BBC

Amanda found herself being insulted for her looks and her weight, while the music weekly printed death threats from readers who hated the band and their twee image, which stood out during the swaggering Britpop era.

From BBC

July’s work has frequently been described as whimsical or twee, but those adjectives can’t convey the molten core of this book, which is at once hilarious and dead serious.

From Seattle Times

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Isaac asks Tracyanne about a certain word that’s often used to describe Camera Obscura: twee.

From Slate

Related Words

• affected
• cutesy
• dainty
• quaint
• saccharine