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

It’s not cruel, but it’s not mincing words, another aspect that someone deeply embedded in Nashville might have trouble doing.

From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026

One may be the loneliest number, but No. 2 is what sent Shaquille O’Neal urgently mincing off the “Inside the NBA” stage last month while the cameras kept running.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025

But we tie ourselves in knots deploring how slow and technical and mincing legal accountability can be.

From Slate • Jan. 19, 2024

Kraken coach Dave Hakstol wasn’t mincing words Monday about his team’s effort in its weekend loss: It wasn’t enough and can’t continue.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2023

At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr.Jones’s trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell