meekish

English

Etymology

meek +‎ -ish

Adjective

meekish (comparative more meekish, superlative most meekish)

1. Synonym of meek
   • 1890 December 17, “Chance Acquaintances”, in Judy: the London Serio-Comic Journal, page 291:

     He came in afterwards, a meekish, mildish sort of person, who looked as if all the cheerfulness of existence had been washed out of him by the weak tea of Bloomsbury and Kensington afternoons, and the lemonade and claret of higher cult, the millinery modish literary soirées.

   • 1993, Philip Roth, Operation Shylock:

     You were left with only the word, the delightful playword itself, the sonic prankishness of the two syllabic pops and the closing click encasing those peepingly meekish, unobtrusively shlemielish twin vowels.

   • 2013, Morgan Rice, A Cry of Honor:

     Akorth and Fulton exchanged a meekish glance.

Usage notes

Unlike most adjectives with the suffix -ish which use the suffix to soften or lessen the strength of the adjective, "meekish" uses the suffix to strengthen the adjective, as if illustrating the meekness by refusing to commit to a straightforward use of the word meek.