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
-
During the heat of summer, those grass roots are just biding their time, waiting for the temperatures to go back down.—
Charlotte Germane,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Sep. 2025
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Hungary's top diplomat told Newsweek that the only path to obtaining peace in Ukraine and ensuring Europe's security ran through a stable relationship between the United States and Russia, vowing Budapest would not back down in the face of pressure from EU and NATO allies on this front and others.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The president backed out of a meeting tentatively planned for Thursday after a top Republican panned the talks.—
Eleanor Mueller,
semafor.com,
24 Sep. 2025
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After backing out of Monday's Dawson's Creek cast reunion in New York City due to illness, James Van Der Beek still made a surprise appearance at the event in a sweet video message for attendees and his fellow cast members.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When Parsons then tried to get his agent involved before putting ink to paper, Jones backed off the deal.—
Jon Machota,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
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Small and mid-sized countries that were energetically pursuing Security Council reform have backed off and are waiting for a clear signal of what—if anything—Trump will say about it.—
Richard Gowan,
Time,
22 Sep. 2025
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 29 Sep. 2025.
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