1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
only a ninny would try to cross a swollen, raging river
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in idiot
a stupid person
was such a ninny that he kept forgetting my name, even though I was wearing a name tag
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of ninny
Jane Austen wrote takedowns of this kind of ninny two centuries ago — how fun to see Pike update her twit to the post-Y2K era.
—
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Kopas, who wisely eschews hamming, makes Frank a spry, eloquent presence, although more dourness in the play’s initial scenes might help his character stand out from the salon’s cheerful ninnies.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Sure enough, the team at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, an organization that provides food to more than 700 pantries throughout the Chicago area, contacted me and said a conservative donor who thinks me quite the ninny had donated $10,000.
—Rex Huppke, chicagotribune.com, 16 Dec. 2021
Because some ninny has not read the user manual.
—Sarah Barker, Outside Online, 19 Mar. 2021
This part of a snow bath is: Yas ninny' bee táádigis bil ádi didiilchil dóó ádaah nidinííldah, or rub your face and body with snow and dust it off.
—Kiliii Yüyan, Travel + Leisure, 26 Nov. 2020
This Macbeth is something of a ninny, a lightweight who lounges on a throne that seems far too big for him.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 2 Nov. 2019
But the story goes that mall proponents had to overcome three tremendous obstacles: the Great Depression, World War II, and the city’s anti-growth ninnies.
—oregonlive.com, 1 Aug. 2019
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Kopas, who wisely eschews hamming, makes Frank a spry, eloquent presence, although more dourness in the play’s initial scenes might help his character stand out from the salon’s cheerful ninnies.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Sure enough, the team at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, an organization that provides food to more than 700 pantries throughout the Chicago area, contacted me and said a conservative donor who thinks me quite the ninny had donated $10,000.
—Rex Huppke, chicagotribune.com, 16 Dec. 2021
Because some ninny has not read the user manual.
—Sarah Barker, Outside Online, 19 Mar. 2021
This part of a snow bath is: Yas ninny' bee táádigis bil ádi didiilchil dóó ádaah nidinííldah, or rub your face and body with snow and dust it off.
—Kiliii Yüyan, Travel + Leisure, 26 Nov. 2020
This Macbeth is something of a ninny, a lightweight who lounges on a throne that seems far too big for him.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 2 Nov. 2019
But the story goes that mall proponents had to overcome three tremendous obstacles: the Great Depression, World War II, and the city’s anti-growth ninnies.
—oregonlive.com, 1 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ninny
Noun
-
Mark Hamill has been a lunatic for years now.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
To get a sentence like that in a communist, radically left-wing city of liberal lunatics is truly amazing.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Predicting the future is a fool’s game.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
But don't let his calm demeanor fool you.—
Joelle Goldstein,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.—
Colm Tóibín,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
-
This drunk moron — quite different from his character in the novel — bears a ton of blame.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
My dad has always said the lottery is a tax on the stupid.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The scale of the headloss was best summed up by Luis Suarez attempting to reason with Messi, before the Argentine did anything on the Suarez scale of stupid.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This typically gets worse over time and is often accompanied by a harsh goose-honking cough triggered by excitement or exercise.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
-
Each spring since then, the National Park Service scrubs out a year’s worth of goose poop and other debris to keep the pool clean and the algae away.—
Joseph Konig,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Ben Rice waved his arms like a maniac on the on-deck circle.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
-
Instead of a Buffy-like television show, however, this one recreates a fictional slasher franchise called Camp Miasma, a typical homicidal-maniac-versus-horny-teens-in-the-woods series that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Friday the 13th movies.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ninny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ninny. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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