Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various plants of the genus Viola, especially V. tricolor or its hybrids, widely cultivated for their flowers with velvety petals of various colors.
- noun A deep to strong violet.
- noun Used as a disparaging term for a man or boy who is considered effeminate.
- noun Used as a disparaging term for a gay man.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A favorite species of violet, Viola tricolor; the heart's-ease.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A plant of the genus Viola (
Viola tricolor ) and its blossom, originally purple and yellow. Cultivated varieties have very large flowers of a great diversity of colors. Called alsoheart's-ease ,love-in-idleness , and many other quaint names.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Common name for acultivated flowering plant , Viola tricolor hortensis, derived fromheartsease ; many garden varieties arehybrids . - noun A deep purple colour, like that of the pansy.
- noun derogatory, colloquial, dated A male
homosexual , especially one who iseffeminate . - noun derogatory, colloquial A
timid , weak man or boy; awuss . - adjective
Wimpy ;spineless ;feeble . - adjective Of a deep purple colour, like that of the pansy.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun offensive term for an openly homosexual man
- noun large-flowered garden plant derived chiefly from the wild pansy of Europe and having velvety petals of various colors
- noun a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word pansy.
Examples
-
My brothers used the term pansy all the time growing up.
Blogtalk: ‘Pansy’ Power - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008
-
I know I will take flack for this, but simply accepting the use of the word pansy is offensive, but calculated.
-
*** My husband would like it on the record that he had nothing to do with this particular piece of cheese, and the pansy is thereby distancing himself from said joke and any particular wife who may have thought it funny ….
-
Pilotshark says: so sissy pansy hillbilly slacker is mr duke your plain pansy persona?
Think Progress » Liberty University Withdraws From CPAC Because Of Gay Rights Group’s Co-Sponsorship 2010
-
You know what the problem, you little anonymous pansy, is with reflexively jumping to defend anyone accused of racism?
-
Once again, the ignorant pansy is laughably attempting to proclaim himself “victorious”; what a pathetic d0uchebag.
Think Progress » Rep. Trent Franks: African-Americans were better off under slavery. 2010
-
For those of you who don't know the etymology of the phrase, pansy is a derogatory term for an effeminate homosexual man.
-
Beeb will later go on to become one of the founding members of Little River Band, so you should always be careful about which musician you call a pansy.
Late, Late at Night Rick Springfield 2010
-
Beeb will later go on to become one of the founding members of Little River Band, so you should always be careful about which musician you call a pansy.
Late, Late at Night Rick Springfield 2010
-
Beeb will later go on to become one of the founding members of Little River Band, so you should always be careful about which musician you call a pansy.
Late, Late at Night Rick Springfield 2010
qroqqa commented on the word pansy
Lovely translations: German Stiefmütterchen "little stepmother", Portuguese amor-perfeito "perfect love".
March 2, 2009
rolig commented on the word pansy
This is also called "stepmother" in Slovene: ma�?eha.
Edit: And in Russian, "Annie's little eyes": анютины глазки (anyútiny glázki)
March 2, 2009
yarb commented on the word pansy
Beautiful. I've been meaning to do this list for a while.
March 3, 2009
john commented on the word pansy
“The Alexander merited a place of honor on Esquire’s list of “the pansies,” the worst drinks of the Prohibition era. These included long-forgotten abominations like the Sweetheart, the Fluffy Ruffles, the Pom Pom and the Cream Fizz.”
The New York Times, Bar? What Bar?, by William Grimes, June 2, 2009
June 4, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word pansy
Tee hee! I love this word in all its slangy meanings... John, we were inspired by the same article today. See here.
June 4, 2009