1
as in bland
lacking in qualities that make for spirit and character
she's such a namby-pamby nothing that it's no wonder she's never asked out
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weak
lacking strength of will or character
mocked namby-pamby intellectuals who endlessly debate the pros and cons of everything and invariably end up accomplishing nothing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in coward
a person without strength of character
those namby-pambies at city hall are never going to get serious about our crime problem
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Recent Examples of namby-pamby
John B. Judis, The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2023
Adjective
Walzer’s dissent was namby-pamby.
—John B. Judis, The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for namby-pamby
Adjective
-
Democrat Gray Davis, to name a recent example, had an extensive background in government and politics and a bland demeanor that suggested his first name was also a fitting adjective.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Is there an unwritten rule about being a bland professional and not showing any personality?—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
3 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
New orders contracted for a fourth month and export bookings remained weak, based on the ISM data.—
Reade Pickert Bloomberg,
Arkansas Online,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Getting too little of either can lead to weak, brittle bones, and too much can also cause problems (like kidney stones or nausea).—
T'Keyah Bazin,
Verywell Health,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
He and the cowards of Congress should be held accountable in the next election cycle.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Tim Walz and Jacob Frey are cowards who are inciting violence to distract from their own failures.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Yes, the rich women went to Sedona on Sutton’s private plane, but before that there were a few scenes back in boring old Los Angeles.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Disease prevention should be boring, routine, expected, and easy to access.—
Uché Blackstock,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The hardware is built for intimacy, pairing a soft exterior with full-body sensors that react to a user’s touch on its head or neck.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
-
So uncompromising as to turn hard heads into soft behinds.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Wes Siler, our longtime outdoor lifestyle columnist, is a total wimp who obsessively pursues comfort in extreme environments.—
Wes Siler,
Outside,
27 Aug. 2025
-
The opposite of a wimp is a Superman, the comic book creation of writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Schuster.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 July 2025
Adjective
-
Throughout the film, which is visually impressive, but insipid in the story, there are countless small touches that bring us back to the original.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
31 Oct. 2025
-
On the road, the Murano sidesteps the insipid CVT vibe of the past.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Lord & Taylor shut all its stores in 2019 after HBC sold the weakened retailer, and Hudson’s Bay in Canada liquidated last year, ending its 355-year run.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in infants, young children, older people, pregnant persons, and those with weakened immune systems.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Namby-pamby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/namby-pamby. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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