Pushovers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who is easily influenced or manipulated by others
2. A person who readily gives in to requests or demands without resistance
3. An individual who tends to yield or comply, often lacking assertiveness

Etymology: "Pushovers" is the plural of "pushover," which is formed from the phrasal verb "push over," meaning to knock someone down by pushing. The noun grew out of that physical sense, so a pushover was originally something or someone easily toppled, before the meaning shifted to a person easily overcome or persuaded. The earliest recorded use appears around 1891 in the Galveston Daily News, a Texas newspaper, which places the word in American English of the late nineteenth century. Its origin as a compound of a verb and a particle explains why it reads so plainly: the word is simply the everyday action of pushing someone over, turned into a label for their character.

Synonyms: suckers, softies, doormats

Antonyms: tough, hard-nosed