namby-pamby

namby-pamby adjective: insipid and sentimental.

Adjective

namby-pamby (comparative more namby-pamby or namby-pambier, superlative most namby-pamby or namby-pambiest)

Insipid and sentimental.
Lacking vigor or decisiveness; spineless; wishy-washy.
- […] she was still, as heretofore, a namby-pamby milk-and-water affected creature […]1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Which Treats of the Osborne Family”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 383
- We can honestly commend the Atlantic Monthly as the most able and spirited of American periodicals, at the present time, and we like it, moreover, because it dares have opinions and to express them in unmistakable terms, on subjects which when referred to at all, by most of the current magazines...1857 November 30, “The Atlantic Monthly”, in Wisconsin Daily State Journal, volume VI, number 366, Madison, Wis., →OCLC, page [2], column 3

namby-pamby (plural namby-pambies)

One who is insipid, sentimental, or weak.
- Namby Pamby’s doubly Mild,
  Once a Man, and twice a Child;
  To his Hanging-Sleeves restor’d
  Now he foots it like a Lord;
  Now he Pumps his little Wits;
  Sh—ing Writes and Writing Sh—s,^([sic])1725, Capt. Gordon [Henry Carey], Namby-Pamby: Or a Pangyric on the New Versification Addressed to A⸺ P⸺ Esq., →OCLC
Talk or writing which is weakly sentimental or affectedly pretty.
- Another of Addison’s favourite companions was Ambrose Phillipps, a good Whig and a middling poet, who had the honour of bringing into fashion a species of composition which has been called, after his name, Namby-Pamby.1892 [1843], Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Life and writings of Addison”, in Lord Macaulay's Essays, page 790

namby-pamby (third-person singular simple present namby-pambies, present participle namby-pambying, simple past and past participle namby-pambied)

To coddle.
- While we business men of Britain have little time for this sort of namby-pambying towards the next generation, who are often feckless, tearful, small, dirty or all of the above, there is no doubt that youths have their place in commerce.2012, Alan Tyers, Who Moved My Stilton?: The Victorian Guide to Getting Ahead in Business

பிதற்றுரை, சுவையற்ற பேதைமையுரை, சுவையற்ற, போலிப் பசப்பான

بےمزہ, کمزور, طفلانہ

ভাবালু, ভাবালুতাপূর্ণ, ছেলেমানুষিপূর্ণ ব্যক্তি

feeble, weak, spineless: വിഡ്ഢിത്തവും അതിഭാവുകത്വവുമുള്ള, ദുർബ്ബലമായ, കെല്പില്ലാത്ത, ദുർബ്ബലം, ക്ഷീണിതം, നട്ടെല്ലില്ലാത്ത

Adjective
comparative	more namby-pamby
comparative	namby-pambier
superlative	most namby-pamby
superlative	namby-pambiest
alternative form	mamby-pamby
Noun
plural	namby-pambies
Verb
third-person singular present	namby-pambies
present participle	namby-pambying
past participle	namby-pambied
past	namby-pambied

From the poem Namby-Pamby (1726) by Henry Carey, a satire on the sentimental pastorals of the poet Ambrose Phillips.

What does namby-pamby mean?: Namby-pamby means insipid and sentimental.
What is namby-pamby in Tamil?: Namby-pamby in Tamil is பிதற்றுரை, சுவையற்ற பேதைமையுரை, சுவையற்ற. See Namby-pamby meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is namby-pamby?: Namby-pamby can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-namby-pamby.ogg.

Cite this entry: “namby-pamby.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/namby-pamby. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.