as in to chicken (out)
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Recent Examples of wimp out
Some plants wimp out when temperatures soar—but not these heat-tolerant perennials.
—
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 6 June 2025
These thick, long-lasting steamers will never wimp out mid-shower, and the cute packaging sure doesn't hurt either.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 16 Mar. 2025
There is a chance that central banks will wimp out and blink, and not be willing to fight inflation.
—Nouriel Roubini, Time, 13 Oct. 2022
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 6 June 2025
These thick, long-lasting steamers will never wimp out mid-shower, and the cute packaging sure doesn't hurt either.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 16 Mar. 2025
There is a chance that central banks will wimp out and blink, and not be willing to fight inflation.
—Nouriel Roubini, Time, 13 Oct. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wimp out
Verb
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This week, for the first time at the Olympics, skiers will scamper uphill wearing carpet-like skins on their skis or just their stiff boots, then barrel back down an ungroomed course.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
15 Feb. 2026
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While Lee and Hauswald prepare to roll out their vision, Houston, the City Council member, has not backed down from his push to expedite clearings of tents and RVs.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In Oklahoma City, after several protests and a packed city council meeting, a company that had planned to sell its warehouse to ICE backed out of the deal – a move cheered by Republican Mayor David Holt.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
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By 2025, average maturities had maturities had stretched back out to 71 months.—
Daniel J. Arbess,
Fortune,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But a large number of job gains might make Federal Reserve policymakers back off any further interest-rate cuts this year.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Since then, the White House has been negotiating with its trading partners, backing off on some of the more aggressive charges while maintaining tough talk on issues.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On Thursday, there were 652 officers on the force, with nearly 100 cops out on some kind of administrative or medical leave.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
8 Aug. 2025
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But with that brief wave of hope came new footage on Twitter every night of the NYPD acting like bad cops out of a Harvey Keitel flick: cops harassing peaceful crowds, cops kettling activists, cops literally driving a car into a crowd of protestors.—
Maris Kreizman,
Rolling Stone,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wimp out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wimp%20out. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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