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View synonyms for pusillanimous

pusillanimous

[ pyoo-suh-lan-uh-muhs ]

adjective

  1. lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.

    Synonyms: frightened, fearful, timorous

  2. proceeding from or indicating a cowardly spirit.


pusillanimous

/ ˌpjuːsɪləˈnɪmɪtɪ; ˌpjuːsɪˈlænɪməs /

adjective

  1. characterized by a lack of 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


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Derived Forms

  • pusillanimity, noun
  • ˌpusilˈlanimously, adverb
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Other Words From

  • pusil·lani·mous·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of pusillanimous1

1580–90; < Late Latin pusillanimis petty-spirited, equivalent to Latin pusill ( us ) very small, petty + -anim ( is ) -spirited, -minded ( anim ( us ) spirit + -is adj. suffix); -ous
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Word History and Origins

Origin of pusillanimous1

C16: from Late Latin pusillanimis from Latin pusillus weak + animus courage
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Example Sentences

We probably shouldn’t knock pusillanimous lux skiing too hard.

But on this issue of Haredi service his pusillanimous silence has been disappointing and self-defeating.

Some advised the king to leave the field; but that prince rejected such pusillanimous counsel.

Of upright heart, but pusillanimous, he only saw rightly when his self-esteem was not at stake or his interest in danger.

He finally reached Rome, but the congregation of Cardinals, of course, rejected the king's pusillanimous petition.

As if the miserable, pusillanimous reprobates did not know it as well as you!

He had always been more or less pusillanimous in the face of winter.

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pusillanimityPuskas