pusillanimous
Americanadjective
-
lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.
- Synonyms:
- frightened, fearful, timorous
-
proceeding from or indicating a cowardly spirit.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pusillanimous
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); see -ous
Explanation
You can describe someone who lacks courage as pusillanimous, such as a pusillanimous student who is too afraid to speak out against someone who is bullying others. Its Latin origin — pusillus and animus — tells us that pusillanimous means "very small spirit." If you are pusillanimous, pronounced "pew-sill-AN-ih-mus," you don't have the spirit — or the confidence or drive — to step up when it matters. The pusillanimous person stays quiet, doesn't get involved, waits for someone else to take a stand — not out of laziness, but out of fear.
Vocabulary lists containing pusillanimous
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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.
During market maelstroms, pusillanimous pundits note that the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, has spiked higher as if it’s a harbinger of the apocalypse.
From Barron's • Oct. 15, 2025
It wasn’t entirely free of the pusillanimous approach he has taken thus far to Kennedy’s regime, however.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2025
"I do think it’s an unfortunate lost opportunity that speaks to the pusillanimous nature of Hollywood these days," Dr. Michael E. Mann, a climatologist at the University of Pennsylvania, said.
From Salon • Jul. 22, 2024
Edward Vernon — after whom the Washington family home, Mount Vernon, would be named — and the incompetent, pusillanimous Gen. Thomas Wentworth.
From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2021
She almost feels sorry for him, the pusillanimous wretch.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
