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

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

But then, a little frustration at a cowardly lack of social etiquette is better than, say, a date abandoning you in the middle of a wilderness hike, i.e., the alpine divorce.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

Surely, I thought, the film will figure out how it feels by the time it offs a Redfellow who’s merely ordinary-terrible: Bill Camp’s drunken, cowardly banker.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

The United Nations on Tuesday called the recent attacks "heinous and cowardly".

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

Canby, who, as everyone knew, was as cowardly as can be, came all the way from Conclusions to show that he was also as brave.

From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

Related Words

• dastardly