spineless

[ spahyn-lis ]

/ ˈspaɪn lɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spineless ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having no spines or quills.

having no spine or backbone.

having a weak spine; limp.

without moral force, resolution, or courage; feeble: a spineless, lily-livered coward.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of spineless

First recorded in 1820–30; spine + -less

SYNONYMS FOR spineless

4 weak, irresolute, indecisive.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spineless ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR spineless

4 strong, resolute.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR spineless ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsspine·less·ly, adverbspine·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spineless

His spineless duplicity confirms that the good guy is actually pretty much a louse.
Bravo’s ‘Online Dating Rituals’ Reveals American Males Are Creepy and Want Sex|Emily Shire|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He then offered the spineless excuse that, “A public figure cannot control what people say in open meetings.”
The Right’s Dangerous Rhetoric: Obama as an ‘Enemy Combatant’|Dean Obeidallah|February 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But no spineless relativism is necessary to recognize that, for most human beings, realness comes in various flavors.
Atheist Philosopher Peter Boghossian’s Guide to Converting Believers|Michael Schulson|November 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Spineless” is a charge Romney critics have leveled at the presidential candidate.
A Glimmer of Daylight|Hannah Gross|August 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Taking it on now is strictly Obama's sop to liberals appalled by his spineless obsession with managing public perceptions.
Obama's Desperate Gay Pander|Lee Siegel|February 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The called it individualism, but Nelson called it spineless.
The Happy Man|Gerald Wilburn Page
Most spineless fishes have such rudiments in front of their vertical fins.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
Why had he been fool enough to think he could swear a lot of spineless jelly fish to secrecy?
Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford|George Randolph Chester
But this time he looked so tired and drawn and spineless that a fish-hook of sudden pity tugged at my throat.
The Prairie Mother|Arthur Stringer
By this no one should infer that they are weak or spineless.
Great Singers on the Art of Singing|James Francis Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for spineless

spineless

/ (ˈspaɪnlɪs) /

adjective

lacking a backbone; invertebrate

having no spiny processesspineless stems

lacking strength of character, resolution, or courage

Derived Formsspinelessly, adverbspinelessness, noun

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 spineless

spineless

adj.

1827, of animals, from spine + -less. Meaning "lacking moral force" is from 1885. Related: Spinelessly; spinelessness.