paper tiger en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
A calque from Chinese 紙老虎／纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ), a phrase popularized by Mao Zedong, but of pre-modern origin. An English translation first appeared in an book in 1828 by British missionary and lexicographer Robert Morrison.
Meanings
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(idiomatic) Something or someone that appears powerful, strong or threatening but is in reality weak, ineffective, or unable to withstand challenge.
The League of Nations was by this time scarcely even a paper tiger, devoid of credibility since its divisions and pusillanimity had been so clearly laid bare following Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia in the autumn of 1935.
2008 August 23, Ian Kershaw, “The twisted road to war”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 05 Jun 2023:Iran is a paper tiger, a postmodern threat: It has many uses but a third Western war against a Muslim country is a bridge too far.
2010 October 11, Roger Cohen, “Iran, the Paper Tiger”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2021:Trump also said Russia’s economy was in big trouble and described its military as a “paper tiger”.
2025 September 27, Luke Harding, “Putin preparing to attack another European country, Zelenskyy says”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2025:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| paper tigers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Relateds
all bark and no bite · one's bark is worse than one's bite
Synonyms
Translations (36)
th เสือกระดาษ (paper tiger) · ga tíogar páipéir (paper tiger) · it scatola vuota (paper tiger) · de Papiertiger (paper tiger) · it parla-parla (paper tiger) · ru бума́жный тигр (paper tiger) · gl tigre de papel (paper tiger) · it guappo di cartone (paper tiger) · ko 종이호랑이 (paper tiger) · uk паперо́вий тигр (paper tiger) · cmn 紙老虎 /纸老虎 (paper tiger) · tsg halimaw kātas (paper tiger) · pt tigre de papel (paper tiger) · es tigre de papel (paper tiger) · id harimau kertas (paper tiger) · he רוח וצלצולים (paper tiger) · ms harimau kertas (paper tiger) · da papirtiger (paper tiger) · sv papperstiger (paper tiger) · fi paperitiikeri (paper tiger) · nb papirtiger (paper tiger) · it quaquaraquà (paper tiger) · nl papieren tijger (paper tiger) · eo papera tigro (paper tiger) · el χάρτινη τίγρη (paper tiger) · pl papierowy tygrys (paper tiger) · tl tigreng papel (paper tiger) · ceb tigre nga papel (paper tiger) · ka ქაღალდის ვეფხვი (paper tiger) · fr tigre de papier (paper tiger) · nan-hbl 好哄頭 /好哄头 (paper tiger) · fr colosse aux pieds d'argile (paper tiger) · it tigre di carta (paper tiger) · km ខ្លាក្រដាស (paper tiger) · ja 張り子の虎 (paper tiger) · tr kağıttan kaplan (paper tiger)