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
I must say, Gillian is not a shrinking violet; she has a very strong screen presence always.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2022
I mean his pa was purt close to Pap’s size and his ma wasn’t no shrinking violet of a woman neither.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
