nebbishy

adjective

as in timid

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nebbishy
  1. timid
  2. pusillanimous
  3. villainous
  4. unscrupulous
  5. cowardly
  6. craven
  7. unprincipled
  8. dastardly
Adjective
  • Football is a physical sport, one where an athlete can’t play scared, timid, being cautious, and needs to give his all on every snap.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
  • Min-ji now understands more about her father’s past and motivations, and no longer sees him as a timid man who would rather bow than fight.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 27 July 2026
Definition of timid
Adjective
  • Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
  • The second believed the United States could attain comprehensive security through military-technological means and saw diplomacy as a quixotic or pusillanimous enterprise that dishonored and weakened the country.
    — A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Definition of pusillanimous
Adjective
  • During the Harry Potter segment, projections magically turn the ceiling into a night sky before the villainous Dementors fly past the moon and onto the surrounding buildings.
    — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Joining Kittle in the series are Jesse Kove (Cobra Kai) in a villainous role, Martin Kove (Cobra Kai), and Rachel Pizzolatto (MythBusters Jr) as The Heiress.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 30 July 2026
Definition of villainous
Adjective
  • Still, Hunt and other policy researchers welcome the efforts to target unscrupulous operators.
    — Laurie Udesky, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
  • However, a power of attorney can also allow an unscrupulous person to take advantage of you by moving money into his own account, paying his own bills, making cash withdrawals, or selling your real estate.
    — Christine Fletcher, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of unscrupulous
Adjective
  • The trans actor Elliot Page plays Sinon, a poor boy from Ithaca who is brave enough to travel with Odysseus in place of the cowardly aristocrat Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson.
    — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
  • Weiss, Maher says, told him her internal critics are too cowardly to say anything to her face.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 23 July 2026
Definition of cowardly
Adjective
  • Not an inspiration for craven pundits and politicians to use players as divisive avatars.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • In 2024, The Onion purchased Infowars, the conspiracy website born of the craven lunatic/Sandy Hook shooting denier Alex Jones.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of craven
Adjective
  • That doesn't enable cunning and unprincipled men to subvert the power of the people.
    — Lori A Bashian , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
  • Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.
    — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 9 June 2026
Definition of unprincipled
Adjective
  • Wondering when all those dastardly interstate constructions are finally going to stop blocking your way?
    — Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register, 17 July 2026
  • And not only thanks to the presence of George MacKay, Frank Dillane, and Herbert Nordrum as this film’s trio of dashing (and in some instances, dastardly) suitors to the Dashwood sisters.
    — Liam Hess, Vogue, 15 July 2026
Definition of dastardly
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

nebbishes
nebbishy
nebs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nebbishy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nebbishy. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of invidious

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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

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

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
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
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All