paper tiger
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It appears that authoritarians both here and abroad started to buy their own propaganda about how liberal democracy is a paper tiger.
From Salon
The Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Global Times dismissed the general’s remarks, noting “the only lesson we learn is that the U.S. is a paper tiger.”
From Washington Times
In posts below it, users called the United States a “warmonger” and a “paper tiger.”
From New York Times
Fingers crossed that omicron is a paper tiger.
From Washington Post
The reference is to the manufactured confrontation by Britain over the Suez Canal in 1956, after which the British Empire, which by that time existed in name only, became manifestly a paper tiger.
From Salon
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
