white-livered
Americanadjective
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lacking courage; cowardly; lily-livered.
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lacking in vitality or spirit; pale; unhealthy.
adjective
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lacking in spirit or courage
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pallid and unhealthy in appearance
Etymology
Origin of white-livered
First recorded in 1540–50
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.
That will separate the men from the boys, the ones with guts and the ones too white-livered to face Hoffa and his racketeers.
From Time Magazine Archive
"And may I ask why you begged that double-faced, white-livered friend of yours not to come to-morrow evening?" he asked, after some minutes.
From The Pobratim A Slav Novel by Jones, P.
Gi' me a woman for mettle an' sperrit I Lord 'elp us, but I reckon nowt o' such a white-livered lot o' men as we hev i' Windyridge.
From Windyridge by Riley, W.
The directors in their rage called the colonists white-livered deserters.
From An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America by MacLean, J. P. (John Patterson)
The deacon knew how his brother-official was ruled by his wife, and lustily despised the white-livered caitiff for his pusillanimity.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 11 by Wilson, John Mackay
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.
