cowardly

[kou-erd-lee]

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

/ ˈkaʊədlɪ /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of a coward; lacking courage

Other Word Forms

• cowardliness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cowardly¹

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. )

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Det Insp MacColl added: "Their readiness to confront danger made us determined to ensure he is held to account for his cowardly actions, and I hope his conviction brings some comfort."

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In addition to disarmament, Washington is also demanding that Beirut dry up the group's funding from Iran, which slammed Sunday's "cowardly" assassination.

Read more on Barron's

The cabinet also said it "unequivocally condemns this dastardly and cowardly act that has led to the loss of innocent lives".

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It condemned what it called a "dastardly and cowardly act that has led to the loss of innocent lives".

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She condemned the “vile” and “cowardly” attack on Manzo, and vowed to bring the killers to justice.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dastardly