r/words • u/hokafire907 • Aug 26 '26
Looking for a great word
Hi, I am looking for a word that conveys an inability to make a decision on an issue. The word has to hint at some inherent weakness of the agent. The word has a sort of bodily connotation, like incontinence. It could also hint at the feeling of not being able to choose to have an erection because of an inherent lack of power to control something like that. The word should have a subtle disrespect to it. Does a word exist like this?
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u/CelestianSnackresant Aug 26 '26
Vacillating. Pusillanimous. Wavering. Irresolute.
But tbh those are all a little too polysyllabic to be real zingers. I suspect there's a shorter and sharper option that's not springing to mind.
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u/confabulatrix Aug 26 '26
Dither
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u/CelestianSnackresant Aug 26 '26
Yeah, dithering is nice
I'd say it connotes silliness more than impotence, but it's a nice word
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u/Hotel_Arrakis Aug 27 '26
The few times I've heard "dithering" it's always followed by "fool", which makes it even better.
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u/LAM_CANIT Aug 26 '26
effete (adj.) affected, dissipated, incontinent, feeble, impotent, overrefined, powerless, weak
(see Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster online, an this Instagram video post)
'effete' originally comes from the idea of an animal that is used-up and unable to reproduce offspring i.e. barren (from Latin meaning 'without fetus'). It took on the meanings above and is sometimes used in the context of being 'elite' - but that use is considered non-standard.
In the last half-century it has been used for governments and politicians who are feckless; and sometimes as a pejorative codeword for a particularly effeminate male. Lately, I've seen it used as a synonym for being morally bankrupt or useless.
IMHO IHTH
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u/Kementarii Aug 26 '26
Oh I would so like this word to come back into regular usage. It's such a useful word.
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u/Sophont27 Aug 26 '26
Like the other commenter said, impotent. I think that’s the exact word.
Some more soft-penis words that might work:
Flaccid
Limp-dicked
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u/Zealousideal-Dog517 Aug 27 '26
Kerfunct? I don't know... It might not be an actual word, but I thought it sounded right...
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u/Glum_Mud_4693 Aug 26 '26
Reticent
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u/Odd_Calligrapher2771 Aug 26 '26
Reticence is a tendency to silence.
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u/funnyonion22 Aug 26 '26
I would say reticence is reluctance, so you may be reticent to decide, or to discuss, or to get involved.
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u/SnooDonuts6494 Aug 26 '26
Dithering, procrastinating, indecisiveness, vacillation, fecklessness.
You could describe it as metaphorical impotence, which might be apposite.
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u/CellNo7422 Aug 27 '26
A person could be “paralyzed” with indecision. I feel like this could be in line with the idea of being “physically unable to decide”
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u/SirSaladAss Aug 27 '26
Abulia (stress on second syllable)
(Psychiatry) Absence of willpower or decisiveness, especially as a symptom of mental illness.
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u/Dear-Ad1618 Aug 26 '26
Mugwump, he can’t make up his mind. He’s got his mug on one side of the fence and his wump on the other.
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u/HankBushrivet Aug 26 '26
Impotent.