milquetoast

[milk-tohst]

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated.

   a milquetoast who's afraid to ask for a raise.

milquetoast

/ ˈmɪlkˌtəʊst /

noun

1. a meek, submissive, or timid person

Word History and Origins

Origin of milquetoast¹

1935–40, after Caspar Milquetoast, a character in The Timid Soul, comic strip by H. T. Webster (1885–1952), American cartoonist

Word History and Origins

Origin of milquetoast¹

C20: from Caspar Milquetoast, a cartoon character invented by H. T. Webster (1885–1952)

Example Sentences

And they don’t need to insist on running milquetoast moderates in the most liberal cities and districts.

Read more on Slate

But whipping the votes for a nominee as milquetoast as Mangi, a BigLaw partner who’d practiced at the same New York City firm for nearly 25 years, should not have been especially difficult.

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Awash in corporate cash and milquetoast rhetoric, most Democratic incumbents sound inauthentic while posturing as champions of the working class.

Read more on Salon

And Tracy Brown praises “Andor’s” Kyle Soller: “It’s a credit to Soller’s performance that I could also have so much empathy for such an obsessive and off-putting milquetoast.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It’s a credit to Soller’s performance that I could also have so much empathy for such an obsessive and off-putting milquetoast.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• milksop 
• mollycoddle 
• pushover