Definition of "pansy" [pan•sy]

• Any of various plants of the genera Achimenes or Viola, especially V. tricolor or its hybrids, having flowers with velvety petals of various colors. (noun)
• A deep to strong violet. (noun)
• Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a man or boy who is considered effeminate. (noun)
• Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a homosexual man. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "My brothers used the term pansy all the time growing up."
• "I know I will take flack for this, but simply accepting the use of the word pansy is offensive, but calculated."
• "*** My husband would like it on the record that he had nothing to do with this particular piece of cheese, and the pansy is thereby distancing himself from said joke and any particular wife who may have thought it funny …."