wishy-washy

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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.

wishy-washy

(ˈwɪʃɪˌwɒʃɪ)
adj
1. lacking in substance, force, colour, etc
2. watery; thin
ˈwishy-ˌwashily adv
ˈwishy-ˌwashiness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wish•y-wash•y

(ˈwɪʃ iˌwɒʃ i, -ˌwɔ ʃi)

adj.
1. lacking in decisiveness; without strength or character; irresolute.
2. washy or watery, as a liquid; thin and weak.
[1685–95; gradational compound based on washy]
wish′y-wash`i•ly, adv.
wish′y-wash`i•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.wishy-washy - weak in willpower, courage or vitality
namby-pamby, spineless, gutless
weak - wanting in physical strength; "a weak pillar"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

wishy-washy

adjective
1. feeble, weak, bland, ineffective, ineffectual, insipid, vapid, jejune I can't stand indecisive, wishy-washy men.
2. pale, bland, wan, pallid, insipid She always dresses in wishy-washy pastel colours.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

wishy-washy

adjective
Informal. Lacking the qualities requisite for spiritedness and originality:
bland, innocuous, insipid, jejune, namby-pamby, vapid, washy, waterish, watery.
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-washy

[ˈwɪʃɪˌwɒʃɪ] ADJ [colour] → soso; [beer] → insípido; [answer, solution] → a medias; [thinking, ideas] → vago; [person] → sin carácter
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

wishy-washy

[ˌwɪʃiˈwɒʃi] adj [person] → sans consistance; [ideas, thinking] → sans consistance
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

wishy-washy

adj coffee, soup → labberig, wässrig; person, character → saft- und kraftlos, farblos, lasch; colour → verwaschen; argument → schwach (inf); report, story → ungenau, wachsweich, wischiwaschi (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

wishy-washy

[ˈwɪʃɪˌwɒʃɪ] adj (fam) (colour) → slavato/a; (person, argument, ideas) → insulso/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
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Why was he behaving so wishy-washily? Because Iza 'deserved' some respect, since she was still the mother of his children.
Injudicious downbeat complications erode concluding drama series' golden gains
'A touch of bitchiness can be the finishing touch in a woman, rendering pleasingly tart what might otherwise be wishy-washily bland' -- Commentator Julie Burchill
Why we need the local beat bobby

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