wishy-washiness


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wish·y-wash·y

 (wĭsh′ē-wŏsh′ē, -wô′shē)
adj. wish·y-wash·i·er, wish·y-wash·i·est Informal
1.
a. Irresolute or indecisive: a wishy-washy supervisor who can't decide what to do.
b. Lacking in purpose; weak or ineffective: a wishy-washy response to the criticism.
2. Thin and watery, as tea or soup.

[Reduplication of washy, thin, watery, from wash.]

wish′y-wash′i·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

wishy-washiness

noun
Informal. The state or quality of being insipid:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

wishy-washiness

n (of coffee, soup)Labberigkeit f, → Wässrigkeit f; (of person, character)saft- und kraftlose Art, Farblosigkeit f, → Laschheit f; (of colour)Verwaschenheit f; (of argument)Schwachheit f; the wishy-washiness of this reportdas allgemeine Geschwätz (inf)in diesem Bericht
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in periodicals archive ?
Flores, who speaks no English, was confused by Dean's wishy-washiness.
('The Supreme Court as 'court of last error',' 7/18/17) where he pointed out the number of times the high court has rendered 'questionable decisions.' Its flip-flops are egregious proof of its wishy-washiness in not a few times.
People understand there's not a lot of wishy-washiness to me.
In a world of wishy-washiness Deirdre Barlow said it like it was.
There is no wishy-washiness in this film, no promises for a better world.