How to Use shrinking violet in a Sentence

shrinking violet

noun
  • He's no shrinking violet when it comes to competition.
  • These were clothes for street style snappers—not shrinking violets.
    — Vogue, 16 Aug. 2018
  • Step aside, shrinking violet, this is a season of the bold and the brilliant.
    — Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 28 Mar. 2022
  • At 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide, the tree is no shrinking violet either.
    — Courtney Thompson, CNN Underscored, 3 Dec. 2019
  • This is not a collection for the shrinking violets among us.
    — Joseph Erbentraut, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2026
  • These are images not of shrinking violets but women engaged with the world and one another.
    — Sharon Mizota, latimes.com, 19 May 2018
  • Brendel, who would be responsible for making calls at the line, is no shrinking violet.
    — Adam H. Beasley, miamiherald, 20 Oct. 2017
  • With regard to size, the Grand Cherokee L is no shrinking violet.
    — Karl Brauer, Forbes, 17 June 2021
  • Susann Sills was no shrinking violet, says her friend Chris Solimine.
    — Gayane Keshishyan Mendez, CBS News, 17 May 2024
  • The Squad members have prided themselves on not being shrinking violets.
    — Jeff Robbins, Orange County Register, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Jonathan Adler is never one to be a shrinking violet—especially when that most wonderful time of year rolls around.
    — Anna Fixsen, ELLE Decor, 6 Dec. 2022
  • The United States, though, is no shrinking violet and has lobbed back its fair share of insults and innuendos.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, Fox News, 9 Apr. 2020
  • The kids, who are no shrinking violets in general, were pretty shy with them, But the Clooneys kept engaging them.
    — Justin Bishop, Vanities, 25 Mar. 2018
  • Most people who wade into politics and public service aren’t shrinking violets.
    — Chad Pergram, Fox News, 10 Sep. 2018
  • After all, a little one with a name like Valkyrie, Raven, or Justice isn’t likely to be a shrinking violet.
    — Christin Perry, Parents, 25 Oct. 2024
  • But in the hands of Maggie Smith, the Dowager Countess was no shrinking violet.
    — Elizabeth Holmes, Town & Country, 29 May 2022
  • This spring there are no shrinking violets, only beguiling wallflowers.
    — Rosie Jarman, Vogue, 3 Jan. 2026
  • The contradiction between a man anxious to wreck shop in the Western world and the shrinking violet that was about to meet Putin was striking.
    — Aaron Blake, Washington Post, 12 July 2018
  • Tress surely recognized himself in all these men, from the saddest shrinking violet to the happy flasher with nothing under his trenchcoat but pants cut off just above the knees.
    — Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Few people have ever accused Naomi Campbell of being a shrinking violet.
    — Danielle Stein Chizzik, Town & Country, 2 Feb. 2017
  • Emanuel, hardly a subtle shrinking violet throughout his career, nevertheless explained why things were different.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Maria stops at a charmless Nevada hamlet built around a Walmart and meets a young shrinking violet of a Walmart employee named James.
    — Stephanie Burt, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022
  • Rush seems determined that Cordelia be no shrinking violet, and that’s a sound decision, but giving Cordelia a declamatory quality is not.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 12 July 2021
  • Sumrall was no shrinking violet during his first appearance at the annual gathering of conference power brokers.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 May 2026
  • Perhaps not for shrinking violets, Lak’s recognizable colors and wares engender a visible bond of sorts amongst wearers—one often affirmed without the need for words.
    — Laura Neilson, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2024
  • After spending years working as a marketing and HR executive, Mita Mallick is far from a shrinking violet.
    — Sophie Caldwell, CNBC, 21 July 2025
  • As a result, Biden—whose tactile campaign style makes Bill Clinton seem like a shrinking violet—spent 174 days without doing a single public event.
    — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 19 Nov. 2020
  • No shrinking violet she, her adventurousness is illustrated by her eighth day hot air ballooning journey through the Loire Valley in France with Howard.
    — courant.com, 30 Apr. 2018
  • Fox, never known as a corporate shrinking violet, intends to promote Fox Weather during football telecasts on its broadcast network and via Fox News.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 21 Oct. 2021
  • Nobody would have called it that back in the 1960s, of course, but the man who shares a name with a Roman emperor (those guys weren't shrinking violets either) tends to be the biggest presence on any starship bridge.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shrinking violet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: