pusillanimous

[pyoo-suh-lan-uh-muhs]

See more synonyms for pusillanimous on Thesaurus.com

adjective

lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.
proceeding from or indicating a cowardly spirit.

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

Related formspu·sil·lan·i·mous·ly, adverb

Synonyms for pusillanimous

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. timorous, fearful, frightened.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pusillanimous

afraid, chicken, cowardly, gutless, tame, timid, timorous

Examples from the Web for pusillanimous

Contemporary Examples of pusillanimous

But on this issue of Haredi service his pusillanimous silence has been disappointing and self-defeating.
Get Creative For Yossi Falafel
Gil Troy
July 17, 2012

Historical Examples of pusillanimous

It is a pusillanimous desertion of our work to gaze after our neighbors.
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Catharine was glad to have the pusillanimous Charles out of the way.
Henry IV, Makers of History
John S. C. Abbott
A blind faith is only one remove from a pusillanimous skepticism.
Christianity and Greek Philosophy
Benjamin Franklin Cocker
He was of a mean appearance, and, like his father, pusillanimous to a degree.
The Romany Rye
George Borrow
The senators seemed to take a pleasure in pusillanimous adulation.
Darkness and Dawn
Frederic W. Farrar

British Dictionary definitions for pusillanimous

pusillanimous

adjective

characterized by a lack of courage or determination

Derived Formspusillanimity (ˌpjuːsɪləˈnɪmɪtɪ), nounpusillanimously, adverb

Word Origin for pusillanimous

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

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

Word Origin and History for pusillanimous

adj.

early 15c., from Late Latin pusillanimis "having little courage" (used in Church Latin to translate Greek oligopsychos "small-souled"), from Latin pusillis "very weak, little" (diminutive of pullus "young animal;" see foal (n.)) + animus "spirit, courage" (see animus). Related: Pusillanimously; pusillanimousness.