cowardly implies a weak or ignoble lack of courage.
a cowardly failure to stand up for principle
pusillanimous suggests a contemptible lack of courage.
the pusillanimous fear of a future full of possibility
craven suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance.
secretly despised her own craven yes-men
dastardly often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous.
a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians
Examples of cowardly in a Sentence
Adjective
He insisted on avoiding a cowardly retreat.
She made a cowardly decision to go along with the group.
a cowardly attack from behind
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Adverb
It is imperiled by a tyrannical president, a cowardly Congress and a remorseless Supreme Court.—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025 From Joan of Arc to Cassidy Hutchinson, whenever men have proven too cautious, cowardly or complacent to act, women have had the courage to do the right thing.—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
Adjective
Those cowardly films ignore the ideological confusion and moral bankruptcy that precede political and creative failure.—Armond White, National Review, 4 July 2025 And unlike the cowardly ambiguity and doubletalk toward Iran and its nuclear program in the past by Barack Obama, John Kerry, Joe Biden and Antony Blinken, Trump was clear as a bell.—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 4 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for cowardly
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