recreant

American  

[rek-ree-uhnt] / ˈrɛk ri ənt /

adjective

1. cowardly or craven.

   Synonyms:

   yellow, base, pusillanimous, dastardly

   Antonyms:

   brave

2. unfaithful, disloyal, or traitorous.

   Synonyms:

   apostate, untrue, faithless

   Antonyms:

   loyal

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noun

1. a coward.

   Synonyms:

   dastard

   Antonyms:

   hero

2. an apostate, traitor, or renegade.

recreant British  

/ ˈrɛkrɪənt /

adjective

1. cowardly; faint-hearted

2. disloyal

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noun

1. a disloyal or cowardly person

Other Word Forms

• recreance noun
• recreancy noun
• recreantly adverb
• unrecreant adjective

Etymology

Origin of recreant

1300–50; Middle English < Old French, adj. and noun use of present participle of recreire to yield in a contest, equivalent to re- re- + creire < Latin crēdere to believe

Explanation

A recreant is a heavy-duty coward. If your friend shoves you in front of him when a growling dog approaches, you'd quickly recognize him for the recreant that he is. And in the future you’d choose your friends more carefully. An extreme recreant would be the soldier who goes over to the enemy if it looks like they might win. Definitely not the kind of person you'd want in your platoon. Recreant (RE-cree-unt) comes from the Latin re-, meaning to "reverse" something, and credere, "entrust." The word miscreant is nearly synonymous, although a miscreant is not so much a coward, but just an all-around bad sort.

Example Sentences

To a senior with average score the word benighted means weary, recreant means diverting and spurious means foamy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Richberg was not only recreant to his obligations as a public servant, but a traitor to organized labor when he made that recommendation.

From Time Magazine Archive

Will the world or any portion of it be so recreant as to misunderstand this contemptuous challenge?''

From Time Magazine Archive

Poet Vachel Lindsay, who has hymned many cities, played up the prosy aspect of "this Buffalo, this recreant town," to get a contrast for the "deathless glory" of nearby Niagara Falls.

From Time Magazine Archive

When little Vladimir finally relinquished her, with assurances that he was ‘desolated to leave so early’, she was ready to rest, and see how her recreant knight had borne his punishment.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott