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Nellie

American  
[nel-ee] / ˈnɛl i /
Or Nelly

noun

  1. a female given name, form of Helen.

  2. (often lowercase)

    1. Offensive. a fussily effeminate male.

    2. Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man.


Nellie Idioms  

Etymology

Origin of Nellie

First recorded in 1930–35 Nellie for def. 2

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.

In 1993, Kelly joined the cast of EastEnders as Nellie Ellis - the sharp-tongued relative of Pauline Fowler.

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026

In 2024, she was awarded the prestigious Nellie Bly Award for her reporting on the intersection of gambling and investing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Weiss founded the Free Press with her wife, Nellie Bowles, who writes the humorous “TGIF” column, and with whom Weiss has 1- and 3-year-old children.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

Her hand-dyed wool company, Nellie and Eve, in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, used to make about 30% of its sales to the US - but she has put them on hold.

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025

“Have you not heard of Nellie Bly or Annie Laurie?” she said incredulously.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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