The Times Literary Supplement (London)
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Twee and Baby Talk
Most adults wouldn't be caught dead saying, "Oh, look at the twee little birdie!" but they probably wouldn't be averse to saying: "He went fishing with his dad," "She works as a nanny," or "Hey, buddy, how's it going?" Anyone who uses dad, nanny, or buddy owes a debt to "baby talk," a term used for both the childish speech adults adopt when addressing youngsters and for the speech of small children who are just learning to talk. Twee also originated in baby talk as an alteration of sweet. In the early 1900s, it was a term of affection, but nowadays British speakers and writers—and, increasingly, Americans as well—use twee for things that have passed beyond agreeable and into the realm of cloying.
Examples of twee in a Sentence
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
Castrinos’s voice was twee and naïf, the aural equivalent of a bob haircut and a polka-dot skirt worn to a Williamsburg dive bar.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
Dixie D'Amelio stepped out in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening looking elegant in a simple look that's equal parts dark academia and the twee aesthetic.
—Briannah Rivera, Seventeen, 18 Jan. 2023
The twee co-working space, which closed up shop in August, was sued in October for $1.7 million in back rent on its 52 Mercer location.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 12 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for twee
Cite this Entry
“Twee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/twee. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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