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sissy

/ˈsɪsi/
/ˈsɪsi/
IPA guide

Other forms: sissies

Sissy is a derogatory name for someone, especially a man or boy, who seems weak or cowardly, or who acts in a stereotypically feminine way.

People who call others sissies aren't just insulting the so-called sissy. They're also implying that there is something weak and fearful about being a girl or a woman — it's the same as telling a boy, "You throw like a girl." It's unkind and also inaccurate. Sissy comes from sister, and its earliest use to mean "effeminate man" was in the late 1800s.

Definitions of sissy
  1. noun
    a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive
    see moresee less
    type of:
    coward
    a person who shows fear or timidity
  2. adjective
    having unsuitable feminine qualities
    unmanful, unmanlike, unmanly
    not possessing qualities befitting a man
Pronunciation
US
/ˈsɪsi/
UK
/ˈsɪsi/
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