shrinking violet

American  

noun

1. a shy, modest, or self-effacing person.

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shrinking violet British  

noun

1. informal a shy person

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Etymology

Origin of shrinking violet

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

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

They are hardy — any flower that grows next to a freeway ain’t no shrinking violet.

From Los Angeles Times

"I always thought he'd be a future champion, but I've really seen him change from that shrinking violet who first stepped into my office," Warren reflects.

From BBC

Penelope is a shrinking violet, but she’s also a romantic tired of being underestimated and cast as unmarriageable.

From Salon

The centenarian is remembered by his friends as a man with “impeccable diction” and gentle spirit, but he was no shrinking violet.

From Los Angeles Times