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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pussyfoot
Verb
-
Trying to weasel things by providing additional levels is abhorrent.—
-
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.—
Verb
-
Right behind each of them are the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, just lurking as the season winds down.—
-
These methods can easily miss deeper behavioral indicators that would signal a malicious payload lurking beneath the surface.—
Verb
-
How did Passover and Easter sneak up on us so fast?—
-
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.—
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.—
-
What’s more, mice need only 20 days to gestate, making for a quick turnaround from embryo to mouse pup.—
Verb
-
The JLab Go Air Sport earbuds pound with bass and never slip mid-workout.—
-
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.—
Verb
-
Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.—
-
In Italy, Tesla’s first-quarter sales slid 7% compared with the same time last year, according to the country’s transport ministry.—
Cite this Entry
“Pussyfoot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pussyfoot. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share