Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One that is seemingly dangerous and powerful but is in fact timid and weak.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun idiomatic A seemingly
fierce person or thingwithout theability to back up their words.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the nature of a person or organization that appears powerful but is actually powerless and ineffectual
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Translating Mandarin 纸老虎 (simplified) / 紙老虎 (traditional) / zhǐ lǎohǔ (pinyin)
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word paper tiger.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
whichbe commented on the word paper tiger
A seemingly fierce person or thing without the ability to back up their words. (Wiktionary)
June 10, 2008
asativum commented on the word paper tiger
The best kind to encounter in the jungle, though prone to burn bright.
June 29, 2008
captaincloud commented on the word paper tiger
A paper tiger under a paper moon
April 5, 2009