cowardly

American  

[kou-erd-lee] / ˈkaʊ ərd li /

adjective

1. lacking courage; contemptibly timid.

   Synonyms:

   chicken-hearted, lily-livered, white-livered, fainthearted, pusillanimous, dastardly, poltroon, craven, scared, afraid, fearful

   Antonyms:

   brave

2. characteristic of or befitting a coward; despicably mean, covert, or unprincipled.

   a cowardly attack on a weak, defenseless man.

---

adverb

1. like a coward.

cowardly British  

/ ˈkaʊədlɪ /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of a coward; lacking courage

---

Synonym Usage

Cowardly, timid, timorous refer to a lack of courage or self-confidence. Cowardly means weakly or basely fearful in the presence of danger: The cowardly wretch deserted his comrades in battle. Timid means lacking in boldness or self-confidence even when there is no danger present: a timid person who stood in the way of his own advancement. Timorous suggests a timidity based on an exaggeration of dangers or on an imaginary creation of dangers: timorous as a mouse.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cowardliness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of cowardly

First recorded in 1325–75 cowardly for def. 3, and in 1550–60 cowardly for def. 1; Middle English adverb couardli, couarli, couherdeli, is derivative of the adjective couard coward + -ly ( def. )

Explanation

Someone who is acting cowardly is showing no courage. A politician who is afraid to tell the truth about his shadowy past can be described as cowardly. Use the adjective cowardly to talk about a person whose knees knock together with fear, especially when he or she is afraid of doing the right thing. A famous example of a cowardly character is the Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz," who pretended to be ferocious but was actually lacking bravery.

Example Sentences

It wasn’t a cowardly Congress that killed the measure.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

But once war arrives, it’s futile and cowardly to try to stand apart from it on the pretext that you’re not responsible for it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

She also rejected Price's change of pleas, which she said was "selfish and cowardly".

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

When Paul and Gaz confront Dee, Taylor’s response is so cowardly that it’s pathetic, suggesting a spinelessness that bedeviled him long before he wound up in jail.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

“It makes total sense. I was the same way. I said you were cowardly, but I was just as terrified, Rishi.”

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

• dastardly