DASTARDLY Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'dastardly' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of dastardly are cowardly , craven , and pusillanimous . While all these words mean "having or showing a lack of courage," dastardly often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous. // a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians

Q: When is it sensible to use 'cowardly' instead of 'dastardly'?

The synonyms cowardly and dastardly are sometimes interchangeable, but cowardly implies a weak or ignoble lack of courage. // a cowardly failure to stand up for principle

Q: Where would 'craven' be a reasonable alternative to 'dastardly'?

The words craven and dastardly can be used in similar contexts, but craven suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance. // secretly despised her own craven yes-men

Q: When would 'pusillanimous' be a good substitute for 'dastardly'?

While the synonyms pusillanimous and dastardly are close in meaning, pusillanimous suggests a contemptible lack of courage. // the pusillanimous fear of a future full of possibility

dastardly

adjective

ˈda-stərd-lē

Definition of dastardly

as in cowardly

having or showing a shameful lack of courage his dastardly conduct in a critical moment haunted him for the rest of his life

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How does the adjective dastardly differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of dastardly are cowardly, craven, and pusillanimous. While all these words mean "having or showing a lack of courage," dastardly often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous.

a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians

When is it sensible to use cowardly instead of dastardly?

The synonyms cowardly and dastardly are sometimes interchangeable, but cowardly implies a weak or ignoble lack of courage.

a cowardly failure to stand up for principle

Where would craven be a reasonable alternative to dastardly?

The words craven and dastardly can be used in similar contexts, but craven suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance.

secretly despised her own craven yes-men

When would pusillanimous be a good substitute for dastardly?

While the synonyms pusillanimous and dastardly are close in meaning, 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 dastardly His dastardly scheme involves using Kryptonian tech to build an all-new continent off the coast of Metropolis — even after all these years, he's still obsessed with real estate. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 28 June 2026 My earliest World Cup memory—a six-year-old’s spiral of indignation and despair—is of Diego Maradona’s dastardly Hand of God, which eliminated England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 edition, in Mexico. — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 1 June 2026 Ewan Mitchell is best known to audiences as the dastardly Prince Aemond Targaryen in House of the Dragon, but his latest project promises to be a more offbeat affair. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 29 May 2026 That dastardly group loved pollution. — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 6 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for dastardly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dastardly

Adjective

The trans actor Elliot Page plays Sinon, a poor boy from Ithaca who is brave enough to travel with Odysseus in place of the cowardly aristocrat Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson.

— Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
Weiss, Maher says, told him her internal critics are too cowardly to say anything to her face.

— Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 23 July 2026

Definition of cowardly

Adjective

And many of them weren’t afraid to make that known on social media.

— Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026
The logic is that if colleges are afraid to sign a player out of fear of retaliation, the player won’t receive the benefits of Judge Sweeney’s order granting the injunction.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of afraid

Adjective

Perreault-Magny said frightened and flustered migrants sometimes try to climb into his unmarked patrol pickup, mistaking it for a smuggler coming to collect them.

— Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 29 July 2026
Meanwhile, the people standing beside the robot look frightened.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of frightened

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

Definition of pusillanimous

Adjective

The yellow metal has endured a tough six months, sitting well below its all-time high achieved earlier this year after a blistering rally that extended through and beyond 2025.

— Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026
Rooms in shades of red, yellow, or beige have Cubist-style furniture and original artwork.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of yellow

Adjective

Yes, Arsenal fan Neel from New Delhi held his nerve on the final day to shake off the persistent and heroic challenge of six-year-old Wilfred — and the meandering, distinctly unheroic challenge of a 51-year-old journalist.

— Oliver Kay, New York Times, 26 May 2026
That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.

— Gabriel Winslow-Yost, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024

Definition of unheroic

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“Dastardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dastardly. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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