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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 Saving people from dastardly supervillains and disastrous earthquakes, those are jobs for Superman. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for dastardly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dastardly

Adjective

What’s left is a vaguely political YouTube series afraid of its own tail, incapable of being actually relatable and too cowardly to own the batshit truths of these people’s lives.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of cowardly

Adjective

The most impressive trick Paranormal Activity pulls off is making an entire theater — devotees and newcomers alike — afraid to look away, and giving them one hell of a good time while doing it.

— Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
What’s left is a vaguely political YouTube series afraid of its own tail, incapable of being actually relatable and too cowardly to own the batshit truths of these people’s lives.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of afraid

Adjective

Punk exploded in front of a handful of scared-to-death dirtsheet reporters who were out of their league, mimicking a helpless Tony Khan.

— Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
She gets caught up in a custody battle over her son, Albee, who is autistic and obsessed with the ocean but scared of swimming.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of scared

Adjective

Hilton’s sister, Barbara Giarraffa, frightened fans and TikTok moderators were among those who called authorities.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Parents at evacuation centers in the village said many children were afraid to return indoors and woke up frightened whenever aftershocks rattled the island.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 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

Jasper, and a yellow Cessna plane Hig’s been tuning up, with ambitions to fly straight into the Telluride mountains and kill himself — because, who cares, your life is over anyway.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026
In the kitchen, bright yellow tiles; and in the lounge, a large print Old fell in love with 10 years prior.

— Ella Field, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 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 29 Aug. 2026.

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