namby-pambies

noun

plural of namby-pamby
as in cowards
a person without strength of character those namby-pambies at city hall are never going to get serious about our crime problem

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for namby-pambies
  1. cowards
  2. reeds
  3. jellyfish
Noun
  • There are always vultures circling, and always cowards caving.
    — Matt Calkins OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • To me, moral cowards are those leaders around the world who refuse to sit down and negotiate a just and lasting peace.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of cowards
Noun
  • Yamaha was doing it in 1993 with the VL1, mathematically recreating the airflow, reeds, and resonances of saxophones and other acoustic instruments, while Line 6, among others, later applied the same broad idea to guitar amps.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of reeds
Noun
  • The whale’s gullet is flickeringly lit by a bioluminescent jellyfish that Jay sort of befriends.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The nebula lighting is reminiscent of a jellyfish in the sky with its lingering noctilucent clouds.
    — Richard Tribou, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of jellyfish
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

nakedness
namby-pambies
namby-pamby
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Namby-pambies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/namby-pambies. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vocation

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All