1
as in bland
lacking in qualities that make for spirit and character
this story is too wishy-washy; you need to add some verve to it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weak
lacking strength of will or character
in a time of crisis the nation can ill afford wishy-washy leaders
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wishy-washy
Don’t worry, I won’t be wishy-washy: August is not an important month for jobs data since the whole nation tends to be in flux.
—
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 7 Sep. 2025
Much of the recent coverage cites wishy-washy export signals as having a major effect on Nvidia’s stock with the on-again, off-again nature of H20 sales to the Middle Kingdom shaking things up.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Would things be so wishy-washy if a Bravo employee who was not on camera behaved in the same way to a coworker?
—William Earl, Variety, 30 July 2025
And then he was wishy-washy, went back and forth, and she was deceived and disappointed by him.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 15 July 2025
While Hollywood was doing its best to evade or outright ignore the mostly wishy-washy efforts of the MPPDA to regulate throughout the 1920s, a figure was rising in the Midwest who would change all that.
—Literary Hub, 24 June 2025
Meanwhile, Minneapolis' Twin Cities Pride rejected Target's sponsorship dollars citing wishy-washy support of the LGBTQ+ community and its DEI rollbacks.
—Eleanor Hawkins, Axios, 8 May 2025
Even last season, with a wishy-washy regular-season defense, Indiana allowed the lowest 3-point attempt rate in the NBA, according to Cleaning The Glass.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 7 Sep. 2025
Much of the recent coverage cites wishy-washy export signals as having a major effect on Nvidia’s stock with the on-again, off-again nature of H20 sales to the Middle Kingdom shaking things up.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Would things be so wishy-washy if a Bravo employee who was not on camera behaved in the same way to a coworker?
—William Earl, Variety, 30 July 2025
And then he was wishy-washy, went back and forth, and she was deceived and disappointed by him.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 15 July 2025
While Hollywood was doing its best to evade or outright ignore the mostly wishy-washy efforts of the MPPDA to regulate throughout the 1920s, a figure was rising in the Midwest who would change all that.
—Literary Hub, 24 June 2025
Meanwhile, Minneapolis' Twin Cities Pride rejected Target's sponsorship dollars citing wishy-washy support of the LGBTQ+ community and its DEI rollbacks.
—Eleanor Hawkins, Axios, 8 May 2025
Even last season, with a wishy-washy regular-season defense, Indiana allowed the lowest 3-point attempt rate in the NBA, according to Cleaning The Glass.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wishy-washy
Adjective
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If your instinct, in other words, is to smooth things over with a bland fabrication, try dropping a tiny truth bomb instead.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
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Overall, Delta’s hope is that by scaling up the culinary quality level, the age-old reputation of bland, tasteless airline food will be a thing of the past.—
Rachel Chang,
AFAR Media,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Relief on that levy—which stacks on top of Liberation Day tariffs—could be a boon for the Asian nation at a time when domestic demand is weak.—
Bloomberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
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There, interactions between streams of liquid iron generate a magnetic field one quintillion times more powerful than that of an ordinary lab magnet (but thousands of times weaker than the Sun’s).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Without getting into spoilers, her one-and-done appearance in Episode 5 presents the perfect opportunity for the more-than-capable Meester to match wits with Bell’s judgmental Joanna, only to strand the actor with boring, obvious jokes and saddle her with a feeble resolution.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
23 Oct. 2025
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Now, adidas is also proving that hiking boots don’t have to look boring, since the brand’s perfect-for-fall versions are attractive as can be, what with their mingling of brown with other earth tones.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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While the power opportunities are bright, the current earnings reports are much more dour as the oil sector slogs along with weakened activity.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
-
However, Bon Jovi found a surgeon who performed a medialization thyroplasty surgery, a cutting-edge procedure in which an implant was placed on the outside of his vocal cord to rebuild the weakened cord.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
On the road, the Murano sidesteps the insipid CVT vibe of the past.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Callahan’s baritone is rich and full, but the rest of the instrumentation feels insipid.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
29 July 2025
Adjective
-
The large flowers have an iridescent lavender eye and stand atop evergreen foliage that adds soft blue-green hues to the garden year-round.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 Oct. 2025
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The species is a red gorgonian soft coral found along the Pacific coast from Chile to California.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Probably something dull and unpaid.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
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Watch for warning signs like dropping buds and dull-looking foliage, which indicate the soil is too dry for this plant.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But Braun was solid before tiring and working through injuries that affected him on the ball over the final month last season.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
17 Oct. 2025
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Instead of a chance to flex their goalscoring muscles, United had to grit their teeth and see out a gruelling, tense, tiring second half.—
Tamerra Griffin,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wishy-washy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wishy-washy. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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