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View synonyms for spineless

spineless

[ spahyn-lis ]

adjective

  1. having no spines or quills.
  2. having no spine or backbone.
  3. having a weak spine; limp.
  4. without moral force, resolution, or courage; feeble:

    a spineless, lily-livered coward.

    Synonyms: indecisive, irresolute, weak

    Antonyms: resolute, strong



spineless

/ ˈspaɪnlɪs /

adjective

  1. lacking a backbone; invertebrate
  2. having no spiny processes

    spineless stems

  3. lacking strength of character, resolution, or 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


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Derived Forms

  • ˈspinelessly, adverb
  • ˈspinelessness, noun
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Other Words From

  • spineless·ly adverb
  • spineless·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of spineless1

First recorded in 1820–30; spine + -less
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Example Sentences

She schemes, she cries, she makes decisions Maurizio’s too spineless to make himself.

From Vox

With 11 defections on the vote to remove Greene from committees, McCarthy looks all the more spineless and inept.

His spineless duplicity confirms that the good guy is actually pretty much a louse.

He then offered the spineless excuse that, “A public figure cannot control what people say in open meetings.”

But no spineless relativism is necessary to recognize that, for most human beings, realness comes in various flavors.

“Spineless” is a charge Romney critics have leveled at the presidential candidate.

Taking it on now is strictly Obama's sop to liberals appalled by his spineless obsession with managing public perceptions.

"Perdita Hepworth," she abandoned her spineless attitude and sat upright, speaking with vehemence.

If any of the jury dissented from its false statement they were too spineless to express their opinion.

He had once been persuaded, yielding out of spineless bravado, to descend the shaft of a mine in a huge bucket.

Willed attention, rather than spineless feeling distractibility, might have saved him.

But of course, since I am as spineless as a mollusk, I sought to accept this heaven-sent visitation with due resignation.

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