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Meaning of "wishy-washily" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF WISHY-WASHILY

wishy-washily  [ˌwɪʃɪˈwɒʃɪlɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF WISHY-WASHILY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Wishy-Washily is an adverb.
The adverb is an invariable part of the sentence that can change, explain or simplify a verb or another adverb.

WHAT DOES WISHY-WASHILY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of wishy-washily in the English dictionary

The definition of wishy-washily in the dictionary is in a manner that is lacking in substance, force, colour, etc.


WORDS THAT RHYME WITH WISHY-WASHILY


botchily
ˈbɒtʃɪlɪ
bunchily
ˈbʌntʃɪlɪ
bushily
ˈbʊʃɪlɪ
chile
ˈtʃɪlɪ
chili
ˈtʃɪlɪ
chilli
ˈtʃɪlɪ
chilly
ˈtʃɪlɪ
flashily
ˈflæʃɪlɪ
gushily
ˈɡʌʃɪlɪ
mushily
ˈmʌʃɪlɪ
patchily
ˈpætʃɪlɪ
preachily
ˈpriːtʃɪlɪ
punchily
ˈpʌntʃɪlɪ
raunchily
ˈrɔːntʃɪlɪ
sketchily
ˈskɛtʃɪlɪ
starchily
ˈstɑːtʃɪlɪ
touchily
ˈtʌtʃɪlɪ
trashily
ˈtræʃɪlɪ
twitchily
ˈtwɪtʃɪlɪ
washily
ˈwɒʃɪlɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE WISHY-WASHILY

wish fulfilment
wish list
wish on
wish-wash
wisha
wishbone
wishbone boom
wisher
wishes
wishful
wishful thinker
wishful thinking
wishfully
wishfulness
wishing well
wishless
wisht
wishtonwish
wishy-washiness
wishy-washy

WORDS THAT END LIKE WISHY-WASHILY

breathily
cushily
fishily
fleshily
healthily
lengthily
pithily
plushily
praiseworthily
scripophily
shily
slushily
splashily
squashily
stealthily
techily
toothily
unhealthily
unworthily
worthily

Synonyms and antonyms of wishy-washily in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «wishy-washily» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF WISHY-WASHILY

Find out the translation of wishy-washily to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of wishy-washily from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «wishy-washily» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

空洞无washily
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

wishy - washily
570 millions of speakers

English

wishy-washily
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

wishy - washily
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

واهن washily
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

слабо- washily
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

wishy- washily
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

কৃশ washily
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

wishy - washily
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Wishy-washily
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

wishy - washily
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

優柔不断- washily
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

짜증날 washily
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Wishy-washily
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

nhạt washily
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

wishy-washily
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

इच्छाशक्तीने
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

karaktersizlik washily
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

wishy - washily
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

wishy - washily
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

слабо- washily
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

wishy - washily
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

wishy - washily
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

wishy - washily
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

wishy - washily
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

wishy - washily
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of wishy-washily

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «WISHY-WASHILY»

The term «wishy-washily» is barely ever used and occupies the 209.695 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Unused
2
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «wishy-washily» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of wishy-washily
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «wishy-washily».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «WISHY-WASHILY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «wishy-washily» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «wishy-washily» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about wishy-washily

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «WISHY-WASHILY»

Discover the use of wishy-washily in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to wishy-washily and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
A Fantasy in Fustian
“No; he's ignorant, and dull and stupid, and wishy-washily amiable,” said Zenobia quietly; “ but he's not a glutton.” The North Field formed the furthest point of Luke Gaskard's lands, and the road leading to it was. A FANTASY IN F USTIAN 243.
George Wemyss, 1899
2
CCSS L.8.5a Figures of Speech: Aligns to CCSS L.8.5a: ...
They are all adverbs, and they are supposed to be punny. purrfectly rapidly royally airily cleanly poorly soundly highly wishy-washily 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 11 . impressively or finely (finally) 12. Shirley/surely 7. ship just plowed the waves.
‎2014
3
Legally His: Mistress to Her Husband\The Blackmail Baby
The Imogen who had left Heathrow four years earlier had been pretty in a soft, still-girlish way, but the woman she had become could never in a thousand years have been described as wishy-washily pretty. The hardship of a life that was lived  ...
Penny Jordan, 2013
4
Shooting Arrows and Slinging Mud: Custer, the Press, and the ...
42 Honest differences of opinion were expected and accepted, butjour- nalists looked with scorn on those who wishy-washily refused to pick a party. Although its motto was “United We Stand Divided We Fall,” the Kentucky Advocate urged the ...
James E. Mueller, 2013
5
Original Intent and the Framers' Constitution
During the Senate hearings on his nomination as a member of the Supreme Court in 1987, Bork was said to have experienced “confirmation conversion” and wishy-washily shifted his opinions. He said he accepted civil rights, equal protection ...
Leonard W. Levy, 2000
6
Secret Brotherhoods and the Mystery of the Human Double: ...
What that Professor and Doctor of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy wishy- washily termed `cosmic feeling' is already being presented by manyÐalso unfortunately in many cases in an egoistic senseÐas the cosmic knowledge of the human ...
Rudolf Steiner, 2004
7
Language FUNdamentals Book 1 (ENHANCED eBook)
1. purrfectly 2. rapidly 3. royally 4. airily 5. cleanly 6. poorly 7. soundly 8. highly 9. wishy-washily 10. accidentally 11. impressively or finely finally 12. Shirley/surely Buzz, Swish and Slurp, pages 64-65 1. swish 2. plop or splash 3. whiffs 4.
R. E. Myers, 2005
8
The Modern Dance: Seven Statements of Belief
I would start out with some wishy-washily formed idea, give it up if a better one appeared, perhaps attempt to break out of a previous style. I would try to broaden one part of the palette while allowing another part to drop off, and hope to find a ...
Selma Jeanne Cohen, 2011
9
Homecomings: Unsettling Paths of Return
By the 1990s the island was extending its welcome even to those wishy-washily Cuban-Americans of the left, uncertain liberals who hadn't yet made up their minds about Cuba. It was a painful era, when Cuba sought to maintain its ...
Fran Markowitz, Anders H. Stefansson, 2004
10
In Transit: An Heroi-cyclic Novel
It was a penis: very wishy-washily pink in the pale light, unimpressively limp in its severed state, lapsing between two of the Don's contrastingly firm-boned fingers. ' Quis?' (pron. Quiz), the Don called out. The response was half-hearted and ...
Brigid Brophy, 1969

8 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «WISHY-WASHILY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term wishy-washily is used in the context of the following news items.
1
The Easter story, the resurrection and the gospel truth
Those of us who count ourselves (even if, as in my case, wishy-washily) among the Christian number do so because we have been shown the light by other ... «Financial Times, Apr 15»
2
Fire fights of soapy suds
The cloudy air was not lifted in any way with the Education Department coming up with a wishy-washily crafted statement that contained various qualifications. «Astro Awani, Feb 15»
3
Liberal Foreign Policy Intellectuals Flip on Obama Over Paris Episode
White House press secretary Josh Earnest has admitted the mistake and apologized (perhaps a little wishy-washily, but we'll give him a pass), informing us that, ... «RushLimbaugh.com, Jan 15»
4
The Flash: Are You "Going Rogue"?
The tensions surrounding the cold gun were sort of too wishy-washily wrapped up for me, so I hope they'll resurface as the S.T.A.R. group and Barry sort of work ... «TV.com, Oct 14»
5
Chris Philpott: Sherlock's bungled beginning
I think my main problem with the explanation is that the episode handled it so wishy-washily. I can understand why Moffat and Gatiss, and co-writer Steve ... «New Zealand Herald, Mar 14»
6
Jennifer Lopez Remains On The Idol Fence, But Thinks It's Time To …
Jennifer wishy-washily explained: "I've loved it so much. I've enjoyed the show so much. I enjoy just the whole process of the show … It's a tough decision either ... «PerezHilton.com, Jul 12»
7
Nick Gazin's Comic Book Love-in #48
Dave Gibbons was less harsh and actually kind of wishy-washily said that the Watchmen book was meant to be the complete story but good luck to the guys ... «VICE, Feb 12»
8
Firepits are the pits and should be snuffed out
To me, Calgary's bylaw seems rather wishy-washily worded. It states fires must be "kept to a reasonable size (under one metre both in height and width) so the ... «Calgary Herald, Aug 08»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Wishy-Washily [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/wishy-washily>. Apr 2024 ».
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