nebbish

neb·bish

N n

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [neb-ish]
- /ˈnɛb ɪʃ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [neb-ish]
- /ˈnɛb ɪʃ/

Definitions of nebbish word

noun nebbish a pitifully ineffectual, luckless, and timid person. 1
noun nebbish A person, especially a man, who is regarded as pitifully ineffectual, timid, or submissive. 1
adjective nebbish (of a man) timid and submissive 0
noun nebbish a man who is timid and submissive 0
noun nebbish a person who is pitifully inept, ineffective, shy, dull, etc. 0

See all 5 definitions of nebbish

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Origin of nebbish

First appearance:

before 1890

One of the 20% newest English words

1890-95; < Yiddish nebekh poor, unfortunate, probably < Slavic; compare Czech nebohý poor; spelling with -sh perhaps < Western Yiddish forms of the word

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Nebbish

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Nebbish

nebbish popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 54% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

nebbish usage trend in Literature

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Synonyms for nebbish

noun nebbish

nothing — no thing; not anything; naught: to say nothing.
upstart — a person who has risen suddenly from a humble position to wealth, power, or a position of consequence.
nobody — a person of no importance, influence, or power.
cipher — A cipher is a secret system of writing that you use to send messages.
nonentity — a person or thing of no importance.

adjective nebbish

characterless — If you describe something as characterless, you mean that it is dull and uninteresting.
prosy — of the nature of or resembling prose.
ho-hum — dull, boring, or routine; so-so: a ho-hum performance.
lethargic — of, relating to, or affected with lethargy; drowsy; sluggish; apathetic.
out of it — away from, or not in, the normal or usual place, position, state, etc.: out of alphabetical order; to go out to dinner.

All 24 Synonyms of nebbish