coward

[ kou-erd ]

/ ˈkaʊ ərd /

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noun

a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.; a timid or easily intimidated person.

adjective

lacking courage; very fearful or timid.

proceeding from or expressive of fear or timidity: a coward cry.

OTHER WORDS FOR coward

1 craven, poltroon, dastard, recreant, milksop.

See synonyms for coward on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of coward

1175–1225; Middle English <Old French couard-, couart cowardly, equivalent to coue tail (<Latin cauda) + -art-ard

Words nearby coward

cow, cowabunga, cowage, cowal, Cowansville, coward, cowardice, cowardly, cowash, cow bail, cowbane

Other definitions for coward (2 of 2)

Coward

[ kou-erd ]

/ ˈkaʊ ərd /

noun

Noel, 1899–1973, English playwright, author, actor, and composer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use coward in a sentence

That same day, the Fox News host also attempted to contact Swalwell, asking the congressman to call him and then calling him a “coward” when he refused to do so, according to screenshots of the exchange Swalwell posted to Twitter.
Tucker Carlson’s Ugly Feud With Eric Swalwell Has Sucked in Family|Maxwell Tani|August 27, 2021|The Daily Beast
Not because Hunger Games books make us happy, but because we want to be sedated, because it’s painful not to pretend, because we’re cowards.
One Good Thing: An unsung drama of the 2010s you should stream right now|Emily VanDerWerff|August 26, 2021|Vox
Human progress has never been fostered by the cowards who have let fear rule their lives.
America needed a space race hero. John Glenn was the obvious choice.|Douglas Brinkley|May 28, 2021|Washington Post
It’s as if Hall doesn’t trust his audience to appreciate Coward’s delightful acidity—he’s scrubbed all of that away, as if it were tarnish and not the actual shine.
The Ghost of Noël Coward Is Nowhere to Be Found in the Dull Blithe Spirit|Stephanie Zacharek|February 19, 2021|Time

She called Hogg, then 18 years old, “a coward” for not responding to her.
How Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, promoter of QAnon’s baseless theories, rose with support from key Republicans|Michael Kranish, Reis Thebault, Stephanie McCrummen|January 30, 2021|Washington Post
Hill advised him not to, saying that if he did so, the cadets would regard him as a coward.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And cancer, deceiver, pretender, coward; it cannot even subsist without the vibrant people it depends on.
No One Ever Loses to Cancer|Dushka Zapata|October 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or he could have been a coward, lashing out at me for some online slight.
How I (Digitally) Killed My Twitter Impostor|JoBeth McDaniel|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was ultimately a coward, and he took no pleasure in his victims fighting back.
A Serial Killer on the Loose in Nazi Berlin|Scott Andrew Selby|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nina Straight says her half-brother was “a physical coward but not scared of death.”
Gore Vidal’s Tragic Final Decade|Tim Teeman|November 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A coward by nature, he had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown before the trial, thinking of what might happen.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
I have not in the world the name of a coward, and yet I am the greatest coward here.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
A grand victory all right, if that coward of a sheriff hadn't got the Governor to send the militia to Homestead.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
He was thought brave, for no man in the Ozarks dared to stand up against him in a fight, but at heart he was a coward.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
I had forgotten for the moment that the cop was a coward; but Burke didn't waste a bit of time in bringing back my memory.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various

British Dictionary definitions for coward (1 of 2)

coward

/ (ˈkaʊəd) /

noun

a person who shrinks from or avoids danger, pain, or difficulty

Word Origin for coward

C13: from Old French cuard, from coue tail, from Latin cauda; perhaps suggestive of a frightened animal with its tail between its legs

British Dictionary definitions for coward (2 of 2)

Coward

/ (ˈkaʊəd) /

noun

Sir Noël (Pierce). 1899–1973, English dramatist, actor, and composer, noted for his sophisticated comedies, which include Private Lives (1930) and Blithe Spirit (1941)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

coward

OTHER WORDS FOR coward

Origin of coward

Words nearby coward

Other definitions for coward (2 of 2)

Words related to coward

How to use coward in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for coward (1 of 2)

Word Origin for coward

British Dictionary definitions for coward (2 of 2)