plural sissies
informal + disparaging
: an effeminate man or boy
also
: a timid, weak, or cowardly person
I would have to go at Walter with the violence necessary to make it a good fight or be thought a sissy by my friends. —
Russell Baker
Russell Baker
sissy
adjective
Back in the day, the brothers were saying, "Golf? I'm not playing no golf. I'm going to play basketball, football. Golf is a sissy sport."
—Stuart Scott
Stuart Scott
Although the civilian model offers sissy comforts like climate control and padded seats, the Hummer meets the same Army specifications as its battle-scarred forebear.
—Amy Gamerman
Amy Gamerman
Examples of sissy in a Sentence
The other kids laughed at him and called him a sissy because he didn't like sports.
the candidate touts his wartime service as evidence that he is not a sissy
Recent Examples on the Web
This acting medium is not 4 sissies.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Nikki has bikes for two personalities—a cream-and-green-colored ’86 Heritage with an FLH front end and knucklebars; and an ’89 Springer Softail with a tiny tank, ape-hangers, a sissy-bar, and turned-up pipes, painted white with flames.
—Dean Kuipers, SPIN, 8 Jan. 2023
Her little sister’s third birthday, then my 27th birthday, our Christmas Eve tradition, the first time in seven years of not seeing or hearing the excitement opening gifts from Santa and sissy.
—Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 8 Dec. 2022
Phil immediately spots Peter as being way too soft, a sissy boy, and hazes him ruthlessly.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 2 Sep. 2021
Real Housewives, like old age in the Betty Davis adage, is not for sissies and Sutton is more of a sissy than me at 6 years old going as Truman Capote for Halloween.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 2 June 2021
There's this emphasis placed on gay people being well groomed and into high fashion, having high voices and being weak or sissies.
—Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, 16 Mar. 2018
They are told not to cry because crying is for sissies.
—Monique Judge, The Root, 10 Jan. 2018
Giving birth isn’t for sissies, after all—and some mothers go to extremes raising their offspring.
—National Geographic, 13 May 2017
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Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Nikki has bikes for two personalities—a cream-and-green-colored ’86 Heritage with an FLH front end and knucklebars; and an ’89 Springer Softail with a tiny tank, ape-hangers, a sissy-bar, and turned-up pipes, painted white with flames.
—Dean Kuipers, SPIN, 8 Jan. 2023
Her little sister’s third birthday, then my 27th birthday, our Christmas Eve tradition, the first time in seven years of not seeing or hearing the excitement opening gifts from Santa and sissy.
—Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 8 Dec. 2022
Phil immediately spots Peter as being way too soft, a sissy boy, and hazes him ruthlessly.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 2 Sep. 2021
Real Housewives, like old age in the Betty Davis adage, is not for sissies and Sutton is more of a sissy than me at 6 years old going as Truman Capote for Halloween.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 2 June 2021
There's this emphasis placed on gay people being well groomed and into high fashion, having high voices and being weak or sissies.
—Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, 16 Mar. 2018
They are told not to cry because crying is for sissies.
—Monique Judge, The Root, 10 Jan. 2018
Giving birth isn’t for sissies, after all—and some mothers go to extremes raising their offspring.
—National Geographic, 13 May 2017
Cite this Entry
“Sissy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sissy. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sissy
noun
sis·sy
ˈsis-ē 
plural sissies
1
: a man or boy who appears feminine or behaves in a feminine manner
2
: a fearful or cowardly person
sissy
adjective
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