Synonyms

gutless

American

[guht-lis] / ˈgʌt lɪs /

adjective

Informal.

lacking courage, fortitude, or determination.

gutless British

/ ˈɡʌtlɪs /

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

Other Word Forms

gutlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of gutless

1600–10 for literal sense; gut + -less

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.

He called the decision to cancel his hand-picked successor’s late-night show “gutless.”

From Salon

I have been a bit gutless with City recently and have backed them to win games like this against the teams around them in the table - like last week against Forest for example.

From BBC

I was totally gutless last week, going for Manchester United to draw with Brighton.

From BBC

Graham: Yet another gutless performance, running out of ideas.

From BBC

Members of the group did indeed know Ray McDonald, with one posting a newspaper article from a previous trial in which the judge described him as "gutless".

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023