shrinking violet
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of shrinking violet
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
SoftBank 9984 -12.53%decrease; down pointing triangle Group founder Masayoshi Son, after all, isn’t exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to wild ideas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
The consensus was someone who is warm, funny, loud, brash and larger than life, with jokes for the children and adults alike but they cannot be a shrinking violet.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
Mirren is no shrinking violet, and neither is the woman she portrays.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2022
Instead, they were chipping off quips and learning a new way not to be a shrinking violet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2022
He had named her Violet after shrinking violet when she had started seeing Dr. Payne.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
