nebbish
/ˈnɛ.bɪʃ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.36 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
One who is fearful, indecisive and timid, especially in making decisions and plans, in discussions, debates, arguments, and confrontations, and in taking responsibility.
Example Sentences
- "Actor Rick Moranis often plays a nebbish."
- "“I don't consider myself a nebbish,” Woody told interviewers early in his career, “but everyone else does.”"
- "But as Lisa Schwarzbaum, the former movie critic for Entertainment Weekly, pointed out in an email interview, “‘Manhattan’ was always about a middle-aged man with a high school girlfriend. Back then, ‘Manhattan’ was made by Woody the Lovable Neurotic Nebbish, and now it has been made by Allen the Monster. And it’s the same movie.”"
- "“Having a camera in my hands transformed a nebbish into someone who could make New York into a better place,” he said. “To help others do the same is important to us.”"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: נעביש
Inflected Forms
nebbishes (plural)
nebech (alternative)
nebesh (alternative)
nebish (alternative)
nebbisch (alternative)
nebbich (alternative)