Dictionary.com

poltroon

[ pol-troon ]
/ pɒlˈtrun /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR poltroon ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a wretched coward; craven.

adjective

marked by utter cowardice.

QUIZZES

FOR LEXICAL ALIMENTATION, TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Nourish your vocabulary with a refresher on the words from the week of September 14–20, 2020!
Question 1 of 7
What does “blatherskite” mean?
a person given to voluble, empty talk.
an ancient Greek or Roman farce that depended for effect largely upon ludicrous actions and gestures.
a check whose amount has been raised by forgery before cashing.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of poltroon

1520–30; earlier pultrowne, pultron, poultroone<Middle French poultron<Old Italian poltrone idler, coward, derivative of poltro foal <Vulgar Latin *pulliter, derivative of Latin pullus young animal; see foal

OTHER WORDS FROM poltroon

pol·troon·er·y, nounpol·troon·ish, adjectivepol·troon·ish·ly, adverb

Words nearby poltroon

polo shirt, Pol Pot, Polska, Poltava, poltergeist, poltroon, poly, polyacid, polyacrylamide, polyacrylamide gel, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to poltroon

milksop, varlet, dastard, coward, craven, weakling, yellowbelly

Example sentences from the Web for poltroon

British Dictionary definitions for poltroon

poltroon
/ (pɒlˈtruːn) /

noun

an abject or contemptible coward

adjective

a rare word for cowardly

Word Origin for poltroon

C16: from Old French poultron, from Old Italian poltrone lazy good-for-nothing, apparently from poltrīre to lie indolently in bed, from poltro bed
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