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mimsy

British  
/ ˈmɪmzɪ /

adjective

  1. prim, underwhelming, and ineffectual

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mimsy

C19: a blend of miserable and flimsy , coined by Lewis Carroll


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.

See Examples For:

"It is not little kitchens and pots boiling away, mimsy little things being placed on plates. He is cooking with fire... he stands there in his leather apron and it's roaring like fireworks," Coren said.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Jack and Alice and other juvenilia Charlotte Brontë did not like Jane Austen because she thought she was mimsy, with a fenced-in imagination.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2017

For those of a delicate constitution, stick with the rustic cafes and mimsy cupcake shops outside which various characters had "moments" with each other because they couldn't afford to go inside.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 13, 2013

Result is that while many a critic thinks that all three Sitwells are as mimsy as borogoves, with a highly refined flair for publicity, few critics think it out loud.

From Time Magazine Archive

Suddenly she laughed crazily: "'Twas brillig, and the slythy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe!"

From The Heart of the Desert Kut-Le of the Desert by Honoré Morrow

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