cowardly

[ kou-erd-lee ]

See synonyms for: cowardly cowardliness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

lacking courage; contemptibly timid.
characteristic of or befitting a coward; despicably mean, covert, or unprincipled: a cowardly attack on a weak, defenseless man.

adverb

like a coward.

Origin of cowardly

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

synonym study For cowardly

1. 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 words for cowardly

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

See synonyms for cowardly on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for cowardly

brave

See antonyms for cowardly on Thesaurus.com

Other words from cowardly

cow·ard·li·ness, noun

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

How to use cowardly in a sentence

The Labor Department should not encourage this cowardly vision of entrepreneurship in America’s workplace laws.
How a new regulation would let businesses avoid the law by classifying employees as independent contractors | jakemeth | October 31, 2020 | Fortune
I say that the cowardliness of this attack stands out even more conspicuous, to my eye, than its brutality or its inhumanity.
Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 5 (of 20) | Charles Sumner
He felt the ground slipping from under him as he, too, realized the completeness and cowardliness of the plot.
Sons and Fathers | Harry Stillwell Edwards
Is not the disposition of the soul's irascible part different according to its courage or cowardliness?
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 2 | Plotinos (Plotinus)
Courage produces in those who do not possess it in the proper proportions, either violence or cowardliness.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4 | Plotinos (Plotinus)

And in order to clothe their spiritual cowardliness and laziness in a pious garb, they say: "The Bible is enough for us."
The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church | G. H. Gerberding

British Dictionary definitions for cowardly

cowardly

/ (ˈkaʊədlɪ) /

adjective

of or characteristic of a coward; lacking courage

Derived forms of cowardly

cowardliness, noun

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

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