nebbish

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of nebbish At the film’s Cipriani afterparty, the New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan compared the Babygirl effect to what Challengers did for Josh O’Connor, who’d previously played nice guys and nebbishes. Nate Jones, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2024 Is the algorithm going to make the out-of-shape nebbish standup an endangered species? Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2023 The assassins pursuing him there include a bounty hunter called Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), who shows up with his beloved dog (a cheeky reference back to the premise of the first John Wick movie), and a nasty nebbish called Chidi (Marko Zaror). Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2023 Played by Allen, Leonard Zelig is a nebbish of genius. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Jan. 2023 Playing a harried but devoted father is a new look for the actor who is frequently typecast as an unlikeable nebbish. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 Nov. 2022 Sievert plays Seymour, the lovestruck florist-shop nebbish who unexpectedly becomes the caretaker of a carnivorous and increasingly hungry hunk of vegetation. Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 15 Nov. 2021 Marty the nebbish, Ike the shyster, Phyllis the shrew. Judy Berman, Time, 8 Nov. 2021 For better or worse Eddie remains an antic nebbish, while Venom huffs and puffs with unquenchable indignation at the sorry state of the human world. Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nebbish
Noun
  • The lyrics’ milquetoast moodiness may also contribute to the band’s listener numbers.
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 4 July 2025
  • Like Ray did for its generation, Sophia proves that one little book willing to fill every word with lightning is worth more than the milquetoast marketability of a thousand best sellers.
    Dan Leach July 3, Literary Hub, 3 July 2025
Noun
  • So this coward had to fire from outside of the church, through the church windows and into the church.
    Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • According to Boxing called Davis a coward for his decision.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • 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, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2022
Noun
  • Recall Scotty in Star Trek IV picking up the Macintosh Plus mouse and talking to it instead of trying to move it, and then eventually having to use the keyboard.
    Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The owner squeezed her hands into the mix of kittens, moving the babies and grabbing the one that did not belong, which turned out to be a tiny mouse.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Nebbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nebbish. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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