Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [nam-bee-pam-bee]
- /ˈnæm biˈpæm bi/
- /ˌnæm.biˈpæm.bi/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [nam-bee-pam-bee]
- /ˈnæm biˈpæm bi/
Definitions of namby-pamby word
- adjective namby-pamby without firm methods or policy; weak or indecisive: namby-pamby handling of juvenile offenders. 1
- adjective namby-pamby lacking in character, directness, or moral or emotional strength: namby-pamby writing. 1
- adjective namby-pamby weakly sentimental, pretentious, or affected; insipid. 1
- noun plural namby-pamby a namby-pamby person: written by and for namby-pambies. 1
- noun plural namby-pamby namby-pamby sentiment: the harmless namby-pamby of a birthday card. 1
- noun plural namby-pamby namby-pamby verse or prose. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of namby-pamby
First appearance:
before 1726 One of the 49% newest English words
First recorded in 1726; rhyming compound based on the first syllable of Ambrose Philips; first used as a nickname for Philips in the title of a poem by Henry Carey (1687?-1743) ridiculing his verse
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Namby-pamby
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
namby-pamby popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 36% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 60% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.
Synonyms for namby-pamby
noun namby-pamby
- milksop — a weak or ineffectual person.
- quitter — a person who quits or gives up easily, especially in the face of some difficulty, danger, etc.
- coward — If you call someone a coward, you disapprove of them because they are easily frightened and avoid dangerous or difficult situations.
- yellow — a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nm.
- wimp — any of a group of weakly interacting elementary particles predicted by various unified field theories, as the W particle and Z-zero particle, that are characterized by relatively large masses.
See also
Matching words
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