SHRINKING VIOLET Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

shrinking violet

noun

a shy, modest, or self-effacing person.

shrinking violet

noun

informal.
a shy person

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of shrinking violet¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

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

From

"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

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

From

“I put up a fight because I’m not exactly a shrinking violet,” she says.

From

Her co-star Oliver Reed - hardly a shrinking violet himself - memorably described acting alongside her as like "being run over by a Bedford truck".

From

Browse