rag doll

noun

1. a stuffed doll, especially of cloth.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rag doll¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Idioms and Phrases

A limp, ineffectual person, as in You won't get a decision from her; she's a rag doll when it comes to making up her mind. This expression transfers the limpness of a soft doll made from scraps of cloth to human behavior. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

"You held him like a rag doll, didn't you," barrister Gordon Cole KC asked Ives.

From BBC

One of the children is much older and bigger than Ethan, and bounces "forcefully", while Ethan flops around, "like a rag doll", the prosecution said.

From BBC

He recalls watching a mature Ash tree, which he estimates had grown over 60 feet tall, being "blown around like a rag doll".

From BBC

“The entirety of the X2 ride was extremely rough and jerked its riders around like rag dolls,” according to the complaint.

From Los Angeles Times

She was, in her own words, treated “like a rag doll, like a garbage bag“.

From BBC