ninny
Americannoun
-
ninnies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ninny
1585–95; perhaps generic use of pet form of Innocent proper name; see -y 2
Explanation
Use the word ninny for someone who's incredibly foolish — in other words, a dope or a nitwit. You might warn your brother not to be a ninny when he's just about to pop an entire hot chile in his mouth. Ninny is apt for someone who's silly and stupid, but it's also insulting and should be used with care. There's a certain gentle, teasing quality to ninny (as opposed to a word like idiot), but you're still going to get in trouble if you call your math teacher a ninny for giving the class a pop quiz. The word's origin is a bit of a mystery, though it may come from an innocent or the Italian word for "child," ninno.
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:
Jane Austen wrote takedowns of this kind of ninny two centuries ago — how fun to see Pike update her twit to the post-Y2K era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
The people who are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan would have you believe that you are a ninny because you might wish for such a thing.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2018
Many of the lavishly themed attractions were not yet operating during my visit, but I’m kind of a slide ninny and probably wouldn’t have ridden the more aggressive ones anyway.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2017
Granted, not everyone has sympathy for a ninny, or any robot, for that matter.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2013
Later, when I told Doreen about his curious behavior, she said, "You ninny, he wanted his tip."
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
So, although the fact that there are a significant number of ninnies among the 329 million people in this country is embarrassing, it is not surprising.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 3, 2020
New Hampshire voters aren’t ninnies about the weather.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 9, 2016
Problem with that idea is that it would send the offending corporate ninnies abroad to escape prosecution just as some now go to escape taxes.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2014
People want to feel safe and have precdictability, yet we are right now a nation of scared ninnies, that cable, talk radio, and the 10 o'clock news only exacerabates.
From Time ● Jun. 6, 2013
“Other than the fact that they’re not wooden-headed ninnies who can only open their mouths to give orders and gossip?”
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
