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.

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adverb

1. like a coward.

cowardly British  

/ ˈkaʊədlɪ /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of a coward; lacking courage

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Related Words

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

• 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

But it certainly makes him look cowardly that he can’t even muster the fortitude to say it in public, much less to his boss’s face.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

"This is a cowardly act of aggression towards the Jewish community," Halsema said, stressing that Amsterdam "must be a place where Jews can live safely".

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

But Tim Moloney KC for the bereaved families said any attempt to suggest arresting Calocane would not have made a difference would be "cowardly and insulting".

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

Villanueva called the decision cowardly when reached on Thursday, noting that Duterte had already been declared fit to stand trial.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

“You are both cowards. You fight by proxy because you are too cowardly to challenge each other directly. Afraid that you will fail and have nothing to blame except yourselves.”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• dastardly