poltroon
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
A poltroon is a coward. Poltroons have a lack of courage and fortitude. Poltroon is an old-fashioned word for a type of person that exists in every time period: a coward. If you behave in a way that shows no courage or confidence, you're acting like a poltroon. In movies, the villains are often poltroons who are sneaky and devious instead of brave and straightforward. A hero is the opposite of a poltroon. Poltroons can be described as craven and abject, but most of all, cowardly.
Vocabulary lists containing poltroon
Jane Eyre
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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
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O'Reilly's Lexicon of Epithets
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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.
Apparently not to be confused or conflated with poltroon...
From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2018
A poltroon was not a good thing to be called.
From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2017
There’s a chance that your antagonist will post the news that you are a poltroon and, whoops, there go all your dinner-party invitations.
From Slate • Mar. 26, 2014
Maxwell is a goon, a berk, a gurgling bore, a ham-eyed poltroon and a great big swaggering chump.
From The Guardian • Aug. 20, 2010
What a miserable little poltroon had fear, engendered of unjust punishment, made of me in those days!
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
