as in feminine
of or relating to a man who has or displays qualities traditionally considered more suitable for women
thought it was sissy for a boy to like flowers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
the candidate touts his wartime service as evidence that he is not a sissy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of sissy
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
The sissy occupied a place between masculinity and femininity and almost always existed in service of the surrounding straight characters as well as the predominately hetero audience, for whom the sissy was a reliable source of humor.
—Rich Juzwiak, Time, 21 Jan. 2026
This acting medium is not 4 sissies.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Nikki has bikes for two personalities—a cream-and-green-colored ’86 Heritage with an FLH front end and knucklebars; and an ’89 Springer Softail with a tiny tank, ape-hangers, a sissy-bar, and turned-up pipes, painted white with flames.
—Dean Kuipers, SPIN, 8 Jan. 2023
Her little sister’s third birthday, then my 27th birthday, our Christmas Eve tradition, the first time in seven years of not seeing or hearing the excitement opening gifts from Santa and sissy.
—Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 8 Dec. 2022
Real Housewives, like old age in the Betty Davis adage, is not for sissies and Sutton is more of a sissy than me at 6 years old going as Truman Capote for Halloween.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 2 June 2021
There's this emphasis placed on gay people being well groomed and into high fashion, having high voices and being weak or sissies.
—Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, 16 Mar. 2018
They are told not to cry because crying is for sissies.
—Monique Judge, The Root, 10 Jan. 2018
Noun
The irony is that a minority once viewed as filled with sissies and losers is now portrayed as filled with bullies and power brokers, and straight people, especially men, seem to perceive themselves as the weak and afraid ones.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
The sissy occupied a place between masculinity and femininity and almost always existed in service of the surrounding straight characters as well as the predominately hetero audience, for whom the sissy was a reliable source of humor.
—Rich Juzwiak, Time, 21 Jan. 2026
This acting medium is not 4 sissies.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Nikki has bikes for two personalities—a cream-and-green-colored ’86 Heritage with an FLH front end and knucklebars; and an ’89 Springer Softail with a tiny tank, ape-hangers, a sissy-bar, and turned-up pipes, painted white with flames.
—Dean Kuipers, SPIN, 8 Jan. 2023
Her little sister’s third birthday, then my 27th birthday, our Christmas Eve tradition, the first time in seven years of not seeing or hearing the excitement opening gifts from Santa and sissy.
—Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 8 Dec. 2022
Real Housewives, like old age in the Betty Davis adage, is not for sissies and Sutton is more of a sissy than me at 6 years old going as Truman Capote for Halloween.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 2 June 2021
There's this emphasis placed on gay people being well groomed and into high fashion, having high voices and being weak or sissies.
—Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, 16 Mar. 2018
They are told not to cry because crying is for sissies.
—Monique Judge, The Root, 10 Jan. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sissy
Adjective
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Love Purse collects purses under $20, along with feminine products, deodorant, soap, body lotion, hand sanitizer, dental hygiene and hair care products, slippers and socks, compact mirrors, chocolates and mints, and other items.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
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Its softer and more feminine guise includes floral upholstery in lemony shades.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Time constraints once again strike here, but there’s also the fact that the movie drops the plot’s true twist — that Grace is a coward — only a few minutes before.—
Matthew Razak,
Space.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill.—
Jack Fink,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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One of the earliest of American masculinity influencers was President Theodore Roosevelt, who touted his own transformation from a timid, effeminate man – local presses mocked him in his early career – to a rugged outdoorsman.—
Miriam Eve Mora,
The Conversation,
3 Apr. 2026
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Throughout the 1900s, and even into the ‘80s and ’90s, women often were encouraged to be more effeminate, and male counterparts were told to embrace their masculinity.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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In Benediction, Terence Davies had to split Siegfried Sassoon into two (Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi) to create a comparably complex personality, but Scott’s Adam is all the more moving for being less refined, a performance of sustained fragility and unmanly truth.—
Armond White,
National Review,
29 Dec. 2023
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Why is his governess, Mrs. Brock, fired for encouraging Richard’s unmanly interest in poetry and music?—
Francine Prose,
The New York Review of Books,
22 Nov. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Sissy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sissy. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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