simpering
adjective
sim·per·ing
ˈsim-p(ə-)riŋ 
: marked by insipidity or by affected or ingratiating timidity
simpering behavior
a simpering smile/tone
During job interviews, I always felt like a simpering idiot.—
Nancy Scott Hanway
Nancy Scott Hanway… spoofy moments featuring a simpering newswoman …—Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael… the indignities of office life, from boorish bosses to simpering middle managers to byzantine bureaucracies.—Charles Bramesco
Charles Bramesco
simperingly
adverb
What a relief to meet a heroine who was not so simperingly, crushingly perfect and pretty as most of the approved Pollyannas we encountered in conventional fiction!
—Michele Landsberg
Michele Landsberg
Examples of simpering in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Whether this is also the outcome for Hozier’s simpering reprobate is up for the listener to decide.
—Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 29 May 2024
The Crown has become too simpering, and has suffered for that reverence.
—Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2023
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 29 May 2024
The Crown has become too simpering, and has suffered for that reverence.
—Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near simpering
Cite this Entry
“Simpering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simpering. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share