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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sissy
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
Phil immediately spots Peter as being way too soft, a sissy boy, and hazes him ruthlessly.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 2 Sep. 2021
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
Giving birth isn’t for sissies, after all—and some mothers go to extremes raising their offspring.
—National Geographic, 13 May 2017
Noun
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
Phil immediately spots Peter as being way too soft, a sissy boy, and hazes him ruthlessly.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 2 Sep. 2021
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
Giving birth isn’t for sissies, after all—and some mothers go to extremes raising their offspring.
—National Geographic, 13 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sissy
Adjective
-
The royal paired the jacket with a flowing pleated midi skirt, offering a balance between structured and feminine, and nude pointed-toe pumps.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
12 July 2025
-
And beyond the viral jokes littering Palmer’s comments are thousands of seemingly serious comments calling her video just an example of how leaning into feminine roles can be self care.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Today’s Republican Party is a bunch of weak, spineless cowards who cower in obedient terror at Trump’s feet.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
12 July 2025
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Now, all of these cowards that were too scared to give us a chance [want to work with us] because there’s no risk involved anymore.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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So in a move that no one had approved, Wayans put on an effeminate voice for the character in hopes Executive Producer Lorne Michaels would be angry.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
-
In both sketches, Keaton plays an effeminate man who doesn’t quite understand the assignment.—
Rosa Escandon,
Forbes,
20 Oct. 2024
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 25 Jul. 2025.
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