shrinking violet
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of shrinking violet
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They both said you don't want "a shrinking violet".
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
They are hardy — any flower that grows next to a freeway ain’t no shrinking violet.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2024
Mirren is no shrinking violet, and neither is the woman she portrays.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2022
“She’s no shrinking violet, and when she has an idea she pursues it,” Mellor said.
From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2022
He had named her Violet after shrinking violet when she had started seeing Dr. Payne.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
