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.
They both said you don't want "a shrinking violet".
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
No shrinking violet, this performer, and neither is the woman she portrays.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2022
As volcanoes go, Yellowstone is no shrinking violet.
From New York Times • Dec. 1, 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
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.
