cowardly
Americanadjective
-
lacking courage; contemptibly timid.
- Synonyms:
- chicken-hearted, lily-livered, white-livered, fainthearted, pusillanimous, dastardly, poltroon, craven, scared, afraid, fearful
- Antonyms:
- brave
-
characteristic of or befitting a coward; despicably mean, covert, or unprincipled.
a cowardly attack on a weak, defenseless man.
adverb
adjective
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
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last year, he starred in the streamer’s comedy The Four Seasons, co-created by Tina Fey, and lent his rich baritone to characters including the Cowardly Lion in Wicked: For Good.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
Chu told entertainment news outlet Deadline that he approached Domingo for the role of the Cowardly Lion on Instagram.
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025
Discovery’s annual monthlong programming slate, which includes two other projects: “Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who?!,” which airs Tuesdays through Thursdays on Cartoon Network, and this Friday’s crossover, “Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2022
"Cowardly accusations have been levelled against the Iranian police. We will wait until the day of judgment but we cannot stop doing security work," Greater Tehran Police Commander Hossein Rahimi added.
From Reuters • Sep. 19, 2022
Cowardly as ever, I shifted my hair over my right shoulder to hide my face.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
