gutless

[guht-lis]

See more synonyms for gutless on Thesaurus.com

adjective Informal.

lacking courage, fortitude, or determination.

Origin of gutless

1600–10 for literal sense; gut + -less

Related formsgut·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for gutless

abject, chicken, coward, cowardly, craven, feeble, irresolute, lily-livered, pusillanimous, spineless, submissive, weak, yellow, chicken-hearted, faint-hearted, wimpy, yellow-bellied

Examples from the Web for gutless

Contemporary Examples of gutless

So should McQueary, who is actually the most gutless in not telling police what he witnessed.
Good Riddance, Joe Paterno
Buzz Bissinger
November 10, 2011
It is hard to believe there is any other outcome for our gutless political system than to choose the second way out.
The Dollar's Scary Decline
Jeffrey E. Garten
January 30, 2010

Historical Examples of gutless

Of all the gutless wonders I've ever heard of that pilgrim takes the prize.
Assassin
Jesse Franklin Bone
Rostoff snatched up the fallen gun, snarling, "I'm calling your bluff, you gutless rummy."
Medal of Honor
Dallas McCord Reynolds
Or are all you Mentorians so gutless that you believe any half-baked folk tale the Lhari pass off on you?
The Colors of Space
Marion Zimmer Bradley

British Dictionary definitions for gutless

gutless

adjective

informal lacking courage or determination

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gutless

adj.

"cowardly," 1900, from gut (n.) in the figurative "spirit" sense (see guts) + -less. Literal sense is from c.1600. Related: Gutlessly.