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

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 • Mar. 18, 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

In the Apple TV series, Rhys, 52, portrays Tom Loftis, a mayor desperate to revive his struggling community, but whose residents view him as "soft and cowardly".

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

It is cowardly, I know, but I cannot see your faces and walk away.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• dastardly