definitions

recreant

[ rek-ree-uhnt ]
/ ˈrɛk ri ənt /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR recreant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

cowardly or craven.
unfaithful, disloyal, or traitorous.

noun

a coward.
an apostate, traitor, or renegade.

RELATED WORDS

craven, yellow, yielding, base, low, timid, apostate, skulking, afraid, arrant, dastardly, disloyal, faithless, fearful, frightened, gutless, hesitant, mean-spirited, perfidious, scared

Nearby words

recovered memory, recovery, recovery room, recovery stock, recpt, recreant, recreate, recreation, recreation ground, recreation room, recreational

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

Related forms

rec·re·ance, rec·re·an·cy, nounrec·re·ant·ly, adverbun·rec·re·ant, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for recreant

British Dictionary definitions for recreant

recreant

/ (ˈrɛkrɪənt) archaic /

adjective

cowardly; faint-hearted
disloyal

noun

a disloyal or cowardly person

Derived Forms

recreance or recreancy, nounrecreantly, adverb

Word Origin for recreant

C14: from Old French, from recroire to surrender, from re- + Latin crēdere to believe; compare miscreant
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