shrinking violet
nounDefinition of shrinking violet
: a bashful or retiring person
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Examples of shrinking violet in a Sentence
He's no shrinking violet when it comes to competition.
a reality show that wants shameless exhibitionists, not shrinking violets
Recent Examples on the Web
Though the 4449 is a considerable 110 feet long and 16 feet tall, and no shrinking violet at 433 tons, there’s a sleekness to the design that still pleases the eye. — Tom Bentley, Popular Mechanics, "Why the SP 4449 Is Such a Badass Train," 15 July 2019 These were clothes for street style snappers—not shrinking violets. — Vogue, "Designers Opt for Opulence Over Minimalism on the Second Day of Oslo Runway," 16 Aug. 2018 Most people who wade into politics and public service aren’t shrinking violets. — Chad Pergram, Fox News, "Who wrote the op-ed? Will the government shut down? Denials pile up in Washington," 10 Sep. 2018 The contradiction between a man anxious to wreck shop in the Western world and the shrinking violet that was about to meet Putin was striking. — Aaron Blake, Washington Post, "Trump’s huge self-contradiction on Russia at NATO," 12 July 2018 Photo: Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC, and Universal Pictures No paterfamilias has ever done more for his wife and kids, though the wife in this case is not exactly a shrinking violet. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Skyscraper’ Review: Outsize Building, Outlandish Fun," 12 July 2018 No shrinking violet she, her adventurousness is illustrated by her eighth day hot air ballooning journey through the Loire Valley in France with Howard. — courant.com, "Susan Gross," 30 Apr. 2018 These aren't the shrinking violets or breathless ingenues. — Dana Oland, idahostatesman, "Pack your picnic basket: Idaho Shakespeare Festival brings Stephen King, ABBA and more | Idaho Statesman," 23 May 2018 Few people have ever accused Naomi Campbell of being a shrinking violet. — Danielle Stein Chizzik, Town & Country, "Naomi Campbell Just Keeps Getting Better," 2 Feb. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shrinking violet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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