pushover

English

Etymology

Deverbal from push over; US 1906 of things, 1926 of people (bad boxers and easy women), popularized by Jack Conway of Variety.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʊʃəʊvə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

pushover (plural pushovers)

1. Someone who is easily swayed or influenced to change their mind or comply.

   I'm a pushover when it comes to buying new kitchen gadgets.

   • 2024 May 4, Melanie Gerlies, quoting Simon de Pury, “New claimant to €35 mn Klimt emerges”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 18:

     “His [Helmut Newton's] women are strong and powerful, definitely not pushovers,” he says.

2. Someone who is easy to push around and to take advantage of; someone who lets themselves be picked on or bullied without defending or standing up for themselves.
3. Something that is easy to do or accomplish; an easy task.

Synonyms

• (someone who is easily swayed or influenced): little girl, mollusc, nose of wax
• (someone who lets themselves be picked on or bullied): nestle-cock, softy, wuss; see also Thesaurus:milksop

Derived terms

• pushoverness

Translations

Someone who is easily swayed or influenced to change their mind or comply

• Bulgarian: балама (bg) m (balama)
• Czech: slaboch m
• Esperanto: cedemulo
• Galician: pusilánime (gl), apoucado m, apoucada f, minguado m, minguada f, coitado (gl) m, coitada f, influenciábel (gl)
• German: Schwächling (de) m, Umfaller m
• Hungarian: palimadár (hu), balek (hu), könnyen befolyásolható ember
• Portuguese: influenciável (pt)
• Russian: проста́к (ru) m (prosták), простофи́ля (ru) m or f (prostofílja)
• Spanish: influenciable

Someone who lets themselves be picked on or bullied

• Galician: pusilánime (gl), papamoscas (gl), paiolo (gl), pailán
• German: Weichei (de) n
• Hungarian: balek (hu), mamlasz (hu)
• Italian: merlo (it), pollo (it), smidollato (it), pappa molle, pappamolle, rammollito (it), fifone (it), codardo (it), cortigiano (it), mollusco (it), vigliacco (it), pusillanime (it), eunuco (it), debole (it) m, mammoletta, coniglio (it)
• Korean: 호구 (ko) (hogu)
• Polish: popychadło (pl)
• Portuguese: bobo (pt) m, coitado (pt) m, covarde (pt), fraco (pt) m, frouxo (pt) m, molenga (pt), pusilânime (pt)
• Russian: слаба́к (ru) m (slabák)
• Turkish: ezik (tr), pısırık (tr)

See also

• cave
• cave in
• give in
• pullover
• turn the other cheek
• Appendix:Words from Variety

Anagrams

• overpush