cowardly 1 of 2

cowardly

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adverb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective cowardly differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of cowardly are craven, dastardly, and pusillanimous. While all these words mean "having or showing a lack of courage," cowardly implies a weak or ignoble lack of courage.

a cowardly failure to stand up for principle

When would craven be a good substitute for cowardly?

The synonyms craven and cowardly are sometimes interchangeable, but craven suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance.

secretly despised her own craven yes-men

When is it sensible to use dastardly instead of cowardly?

While in some cases nearly identical to cowardly, dastardly often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous.

a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians

When could pusillanimous be used to replace cowardly?

In some situations, the words pusillanimous and cowardly are roughly equivalent. However, pusillanimous suggests a contemptible lack of courage.

the pusillanimous fear of a future full of possibility

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cowardly
Adjective
And instead of doing pro bono work for Trump, cowardly law firms should be defending those who believe in the rule of law. Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025 This was a brazen act of cowardly, antisemitic violence. Christina Shaw, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2025
Adverb
Two beloved members of the Tijuana journalism community were killed in two separate cowardly attacks. Tania Navarro, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2025 Playing Switzerland is a dangerous game for a Housewife — never choosing a side is seen as a cowardly position that quickly wears thin. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowardly
Adjective
  • Don’t be afraid to dig deep as this transit sparks your interest in exploring your emotional and creative longings, whether that means tackling personal projects or revisiting childhood passions.
    Valerie Mesa, People.com, 28 June 2025
  • Keep checking in with yourself, stay curious, and don’t be afraid to pivot.
    Sho Dewan, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • The disconnect between Trump’s stagings of brute force is striking and more than a little worrisome for those who have long thought civilian control of the military would have stopped such a craven choice.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 11 June 2025
  • To abet Trump’s fake reality, the craven House Republicans refused to put up a plaque honoring the police officers and others who defended the Capitol that awful day.
    Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 4 June 2025
Adjective
  • With no cell service or any experience with snakes, Wall was scared.
    Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 19 June 2025
  • The story itself is stripped to bone and sinew: a sleepy New England beach town that wants tourist dollars more than truth, an invisible killer in plain water, and three men — one scared sheriff, one cocky scientist, one Ahab of a fisherman — set adrift to settle nature’s score.
    Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • An erect, sprawling, and spineless cactus, the flowers are white, fragrant, and measure 12 inches long and 8 inches wide.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 June 2025
  • Some House Democrats have called their party spineless.
    Alex Travelli, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Listen, by doing it this way, with a press release instead of a press conference, Rose looks both gutless and gutty at the same time.
    Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025
  • Two baseballs flew down toward the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar from the left-field corner stands, the gutless moves of two cowards.
    Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Instead, federal authorities are hiding, apparently too frightened of online provocateurs and in-person hecklers to do their duty in plain sight.
    Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
  • Others who live close to the jail were downright frightened.
    Chris Kenning, USA Today, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
  • The second believed the United States could attain comprehensive security through military-technological means and saw diplomacy as a quixotic or pusillanimous enterprise that dishonored and weakened the country.
    A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The bi-tone bezel, incidentally, is the key to keeping track of dastardly deeds in two different time zones simultaneously.
    Chris Haslam, Wired News, 23 May 2025
  • Naturally, this doesn't last long, and he gets called in to help nab the elusive arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) — the most dastardly villain he's faced yet.
    EW.com, EW.com, 21 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Cowardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowardly. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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