variants
or mousey
as in timid
easily frightened
a mousy little girl who hid behind her mother the entire time we were there
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Recent Examples of mousy
Howell brings his mousy charm to the insecure Dennis Whitaker on The Pitt.
—
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Jan. 2026
At first blush, Rachel appears to be a mousy wallflower irritated by Marty’s fast-cash gambits.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
Whereas the play only obliquely references the character’s successful new novel, this version presents Eileen’s manuscript — co-written with her mousy lover Thea (Imogen Potts), a former schoolmate of Hedda’s — as a revelatory treatise on the future of human sexuality.
—Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Oct. 2025
Generously, Thompson’s performance leaves room for two more, the first being Poots’ low-key but impressive Thea, a mousy woman who arrives wet and bedraggled, causing Hedda to dress her in her own clothes (a gesture that has more than one meaning for Hedda, who’s still in love with Eileen).
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mousy
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Jan. 2026
At first blush, Rachel appears to be a mousy wallflower irritated by Marty’s fast-cash gambits.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
Whereas the play only obliquely references the character’s successful new novel, this version presents Eileen’s manuscript — co-written with her mousy lover Thea (Imogen Potts), a former schoolmate of Hedda’s — as a revelatory treatise on the future of human sexuality.
—Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Oct. 2025
Generously, Thompson’s performance leaves room for two more, the first being Poots’ low-key but impressive Thea, a mousy woman who arrives wet and bedraggled, causing Hedda to dress her in her own clothes (a gesture that has more than one meaning for Hedda, who’s still in love with Eileen).
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mousy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mousy
timid
Adjective
-
At the heart of the series is Deano’s friendship with Kit, his timid best mate from the wealthy side of town.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The Court, despite its conservative majority, has enforced the limits on arbitrary presidential authority that congressional Republicans were too timid to enforce themselves.—
Idrees Kahloon,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mousy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mousy. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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