cowardly

[ kou-erd-lee ]

adjective

1. lacking courage; contemptibly timid.

   Synonyms: chicken-hearted, lily-livered, white-livered, fainthearted, pusillanimous, dastardly, poltroon, craven, scared, afraid, fearful

   Antonyms: brave

2. characteristic of or befitting a coward; despicably mean, covert, or unprincipled:

   a cowardly attack on a weak, defenseless man.

adverb

1. like a coward.

cowardly

/ ˈkaʊədlɪ /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of a coward; lacking courage

Derived Forms

• ˈcowardliness, noun

Other Words From

• coward·li·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cowardly¹

First recorded in 1325–75 cowardly fordef 3, and in 1550–60 cowardly fordef 1; Middle English adverb couardli, couarli, couherdeli, is derivative of the adjective couard coward + -ly ( def )

Synonym Study

Cowardly, timid, timorous refer to a lack of courage or self-confidence. Cowardly means weakly or basely fearful in the presence of danger: The cowardly wretch deserted his comrades in battle. Timid means lacking in boldness or self-confidence even when there is no danger present: a timid person who stood in the way of his own advancement. Timorous suggests a timidity based on an exaggeration of dangers or on an imaginary creation of dangers: timorous as a mouse.

Example Sentences

All too often, smart business tactics produce cowardly leaders who take liberal democracy and common decency for granted.

From Slate

Harris’ comments on the matter have been cowardly and embarrassing.

From Slate

And New York Democrats have been cowardly about defending and standing up for trans kids, who have been targeted and bullied, and stripped of their right to medical care, in so many parts of the country.

From Slate

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has criticised the "cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats" in a deepening diplomatic row with Canada.

From BBC

“It’s so disingenuous and it seems cowardly. And I don’t think the paper should be cowardly.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dastardly