mincing

American  

[min-sing] / ˈmɪn sɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of the gait, speech, behavior, etc.) affectedly dainty, nice, or elegant.

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mincing British  

/ ˈmɪnsɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of a person) affectedly elegant in gait, manner, or speech

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Other Word Forms

• mincingly
  adverb
• unmincing
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mincing

First recorded in 1520–30; mince + -ing ²

Explanation

Mincing is an adjective that describes someone who is being especially dainty or refined. The voices of older women who speak as though they're young girls can be described as mincing. Mincing is primarily used as an adjective meaning to be noticeably — and perhaps oddly or unnaturally — dainty or refined. You might remark, for example, on a lumberjack who takes mincing steps across a log, or a woman who speaks to her dog in a mincing voice. In these cases, the daintiness is unnatural — it's put on for show — or in the case of the lumberjack, so he won't fall off the log.

Example Sentences

Mincing no words, it is called the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2022

"Everyone bought through the same location - Mincing Lane in London - where teas were blended but the quality was not reliable," says biographer Michael D'Antonio.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2018

But not everyone in the road, which leads on to Mincing Lane in Rowley Regis, agrees with the campaign.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2018

Its agents regularly attend the tea auctions in London's Mincing Lane and make their bids with time-honored cries of "I want some" and "Am I in it?"

From Time Magazine Archive

In Mincing Lane, where they deal in rubber shares, they used to call him and Sir Rupert the invaders; now they call them the Conquering Heroes....

From Marriage by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)