Mēal'y-mouthed, a.

adjective

Having a soft mouth; unwilling to tell the truth in plain language; hypocritically, affectedly, or timidly delicate of speech.

Not illiterate; neither one Who, dabbling in the fount of fictive tears, And nursed by mealy-mouthed philanthropies, Divorce the Feeling from her mate the Deed. Tennyson.