variants
or less commonly wussy
plural wusses also wussies
informal
: a weak, cowardly, or ineffectual person : wimp
Don't be such a wuss.
acted like a total wuss
I am not a wuss; I refuse to be undone by fear.—
Joline Godfrey
Joline GodfreyI'm a wuss when it comes to pain. I did not wish to lose body parts.—Chuck Gallagher
Chuck GallagherYou don't like turtlenecks? You say they're too tight? What are you, some wussy?—Frank Cammuso and Hart Seely
Frank Cammuso and Hart Seely… it can be galling to watch grown men pretend to be hurt. It's one thing to embellish a penalty, and another to act as though you are in pain when you are not. Maybe there are places where toughness is not a virtue and lying is not a vice, but, wherever you are, being a wuss is being a wuss.—Nick Paumgarten
Nick Paumgarten
wussy
adjective
wussier; wussiest
Nation building was for wussy foreign-policy sociologists; the military's job was to "fight and win" wars.
—Joe Klein
Joe Klein
It's pretty much hard rock, with a couple wussy songs.
—Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield
Examples of wuss in a Sentence
Don't be such a wuss.
teased him for being a wuss when he failed the push-up test in gym class
Recent Examples on the Web
Of the two sisters in the yellow house, Paula is a much gentler girl, a wuss, a baby, the biggest chicken—that’s how her sister thinks of her—and Rhonda is the boss.
—Alex Mar, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2023
Teach, who carries a gun, is a wuss about the rain.
—New York Times, 14 Apr. 2022
My girlfriend, Rachel, who is not a food wuss like me, unhesitatingly and hopefully tried the stuff.
—Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2021
While thinking of ways to be less of a wuss about cutting squashes, I was reminded of the life story of Peter Gordon, one of the top chefs and food writers in New Zealand.
—Bee Wilson, WSJ, 17 Oct. 2020
That simply wouldn’t have happened in 2018’s Republican Party, where Nixon probably would have been dismissed as a low-energy wuss.
—Will Bunch, Philly.com, 4 Feb. 2018
Camp 1 includes those who lament the wuss-ification of the game.
—Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 31 Aug. 2017
For you wusses who think otherwise, the Flip-n-Drip should be live on the site soon for $45.
—Charlie Sorrel, WIRED, 31 Aug. 2009
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Alex Mar, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2023
Teach, who carries a gun, is a wuss about the rain.
—New York Times, 14 Apr. 2022
My girlfriend, Rachel, who is not a food wuss like me, unhesitatingly and hopefully tried the stuff.
—Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2021
While thinking of ways to be less of a wuss about cutting squashes, I was reminded of the life story of Peter Gordon, one of the top chefs and food writers in New Zealand.
—Bee Wilson, WSJ, 17 Oct. 2020
That simply wouldn’t have happened in 2018’s Republican Party, where Nixon probably would have been dismissed as a low-energy wuss.
—Will Bunch, Philly.com, 4 Feb. 2018
Camp 1 includes those who lament the wuss-ification of the game.
—Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 31 Aug. 2017
For you wusses who think otherwise, the Flip-n-Drip should be live on the site soon for $45.
—Charlie Sorrel, WIRED, 31 Aug. 2009
Cite this Entry
“Wuss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wuss. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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