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
-
But Boise State didn’t back down.—
Rachel Roberts,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Nov. 2025
-
But Hélène Lacombe is an expert in small spaces, and not one to back down from a challenge which, in this studio, was creating a real living room.—
Annabelle Dufraigne,
Architectural Digest,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Pulling up from the free-throw line with a defender a few feet ahead, Andrews’ midrange jumper rattled inside the basket before popping back out as the buzzer sounded.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
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Other elk were nearby, and Scrivner thought it best to back out of the area and meet with his Army buddy Joe Cooper.—
Bob McNally,
Outdoor Life,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But last month, Critchfield backed off in the face of a challenging state budget.—
Becca Savransky,
Idaho Statesman,
8 Jan. 2026
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Tensions came to a head when Carrie confronted her for backing off.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
30 Dec. 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 9 Jan. 2026.
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