lily-livered
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of lily-livered
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 won't be so hobbled by his lily-livered inability to give a direct order next time, because, frankly, he won't have to.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2022
If that happens, they can point to their lily-livered observations and say, “See, we knew it all along.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2021
In no fewer than eight attempts to emerge from assorted divisions through these steely end-of-season tests of nerve and resolve, the Lilywhites have proved decidedly lily-livered, having failed to achieve promotion a single time.
From The Guardian ● May 24, 2013
Robin responds, “That’s just to scare off lily-livered city folk.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2012
“The fire-eater's in love with Resa, I said, he’d devour her with his eyes if he could, but the others wouldn't believe me. All the same—to think of a lily-livered coward like you venturing here!”
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
