pansy

[ pan-zee ]
See synonyms for pansy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural pan·sies.
  1. a violet, Viola tricolor hortensis, cultivated in many varieties, having richly and variously colored flowers.

  2. the flower of this plant.

  1. Slang.

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

    • Offensive. a weak, effeminate, and often cowardly man.

Origin of pansy

1
First recorded in 1490–1500, and in 1930–35 for def. 3; from Middle French pensée “pansy,” literally, “thought,” noun use of feminine of past participle of penser “to think,” from Latin pēnsāre “to weigh, consider”; see pensive

Words Nearby pansy

Other definitions for Pansy (2 of 2)

Pansy
[ pan-zee ]

noun
  1. a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pansy in a sentence

  • When a few presumably religious kids walked out, Savage called them “pansy-assed.”

  • The twist, when it comes, makes O. Henry look like a hopeless pansy.

    Twelve Unusual Christmas Reads | Stefan Beck | December 25, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • When the introductions were over, he went directly to the side of pansy, to the evident and rising amazement of Tootles.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • That confounded money-eating little flirt of a pansy will give me the royal shake the moment she gets wise.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • Well, Ill go down and give the invitations, said Tootles, who departed in quest of pansy.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • These higher flights from Tootles always moved pansy, who had a penchant for refined romance.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • He stopped to pick the first pansy he saw, when he left the snows, to send it to an English friend.

    The Life of Mazzini | Bolton King

British Dictionary definitions for pansy

pansy

/ (ˈpænzɪ) /


nounplural -sies
  1. any violaceous garden plant that is a variety of Viola tricolor, having flowers with rounded velvety petals, white, yellow, or purple in colour: See also wild pansy

  2. slang, offensive an effeminate or homosexual man or boy

    • a strong violet colour

    • (as adjective): a pansy carpet

Origin of pansy

1
C15: from Old French pensée thought, from penser to think, from Latin pensāre

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