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. )

Example Sentences

They were too cowardly to set foot inside the forest, but their horrible song echoed through his head all year long.

From Literature

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

Masoud Pezeshkian said the "cowardly assassination" had left Iran "in deep mourning", after Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Khatib in an air strike.

From BBC

Hoping someone else will intervene isn’t cowardly; it’s a means of survival in constantly uncertain conditions.

From Salon

"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

Related Words

• dastardly