mousy

/ˈmaʊsi/

Other forms: mousily; mousiest

If your house is painted the same dull brown color as a mouse's fur, you can call it mousy. If you're tired of your mousy hair, you can always dye it purple.

If you think of mice as shy and boring, you'll understand the sense of the adjective mousy. Whether it's describing a color, like your mousy brown sweater, or a personality, like a timid, mousy classmate, mousy is rarely a compliment. The "quiet and unassertive" meaning is the oldest, dating from about 1812, while the reference to color came along forty years later.

Definitions of mousy

1. adjective

   of something having a drab pale brown color resembling a mouse
   “a mousy brownish-grey color”

   “mousy hair”

   synonyms: mouse-colored, mouselike, mousey

   chromatic

   being, having, or characterized by hue
2. adjective

   quiet and timid and ineffectual
   synonyms: mousey

   timid

   showing fear and lack of confidence
3. adjective

   infested with mice
   synonyms: mousey