1
as in to weasel
to avoid giving a definite answer or position
politicians who try to pussyfoot around hot-button issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pussyfoot
Delivering the News Dear Delivering: Here’s how: Stop pussyfooting around the subject and be completely honest with your mother.
—
Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2025
No less than Werner Herzog remade Murnau’s masterpiece in 1979, starring Klaus Kinski as the bald-headed bloodsucker; rather than pussyfoot around the whole rip-off-or-not aspect, the former doubles down and names the character Count Dracula.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
The results of this pussyfooting around are mixed, for everyone involved.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
In an interview that aired on NBC News this week, DeSantis for the first time finally stopped pussyfooting around whether Trump won in 2020.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 8 Aug. 2023
Yet other people want to pussyfoot around.
—Ed Symkus, USA TODAY, 3 Nov. 2020
What a crazy, zany coincidence that Harden pussyfooted around the controversy set off by Morey’s tweet.
—Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, 12 Oct. 2019
Deputy Managing Editor Yesha Callahan is gonna be mad at this short-ass lede, but today there’s no need to pussyfoot around.
—Michael Harriot, The Root, 15 June 2018
No pussyfooting around here: Sell-offs are painful.
—Anna-Louise Jackson, latimes.com, 9 Feb. 2018
Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2025
No less than Werner Herzog remade Murnau’s masterpiece in 1979, starring Klaus Kinski as the bald-headed bloodsucker; rather than pussyfoot around the whole rip-off-or-not aspect, the former doubles down and names the character Count Dracula.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
The results of this pussyfooting around are mixed, for everyone involved.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
In an interview that aired on NBC News this week, DeSantis for the first time finally stopped pussyfooting around whether Trump won in 2020.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 8 Aug. 2023
Yet other people want to pussyfoot around.
—Ed Symkus, USA TODAY, 3 Nov. 2020
What a crazy, zany coincidence that Harden pussyfooted around the controversy set off by Morey’s tweet.
—Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, 12 Oct. 2019
Deputy Managing Editor Yesha Callahan is gonna be mad at this short-ass lede, but today there’s no need to pussyfoot around.
—Michael Harriot, The Root, 15 June 2018
No pussyfooting around here: Sell-offs are painful.
—Anna-Louise Jackson, latimes.com, 9 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pussyfoot
Verb
-
Trying to weasel things by providing additional levels is abhorrent.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
20 Nov. 2024
-
But when Douglas doesn’t invite her to the business dinner, the show suddenly takes a turn into wacky sitcom territory, with Maxine trying to weasel her way into Douglas’s business to meet and invite the Prince to the Beach Ball.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2024
Verb
-
In the rocky and sandy terrain of the Arabian peninsula, a dangerous creature lurks just below the surface in a burrow.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Yet, amid the convenience—and yes, sometimes amusement—lurks a growing concern.—
Fabio Caversan,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
But a better travel pillow does all that and sneaks an extra day’s worth of clothing onto the plane without catching a gate agent’s attention.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Apr. 2025
-
How did Passover and Easter sneak up on us so fast?—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Medical examiners determined that Arakawa's death at 65 was caused by hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease usually contracted from exposure to mouse droppings that affects the lungs.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
7 Mar. 2025
-
What’s more, mice need only 20 days to gestate, making for a quick turnaround from embryo to mouse pup.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Parham, a former Methodist married to a woman from a Quaker family, had come to Kansas from Iowa, after touring holiness camps and talking with global missionaries, some of whom told him about seeing recent converts slip into trances and speak in tongues.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
-
The JLab Go Air Sport earbuds pound with bass and never slip mid-workout.—
Shubham Yewale,
PC Magazine,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The water pressure then causes the vehicle to rise and slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, making the driver lose control.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2025
-
But what happens if the nation slides into an economic recession while Washington is cutting, not expanding, aid to states?—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pussyfoot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pussyfoot. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share