Definition of cowardly
:in a cowardly manner
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Recent Examples of cowardly from the Web
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Vincent Phillips cowardly ambushed a police officer under the cover of night.
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CHARACTER HOT TAKE: Manly, cowardly -- same diff, apparently.
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MEANWHILE, IN THE TWITTERVERSE ... At conference that included war correspondents, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn portrays reporters as cowardly tampabay.com/blogs/timesnew…
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Cowardly politicians, Democratic as well as Republican (Baltimore's former Mayor Kurt Schmoke is one of the few exceptions), have perpetuated Presidents Nixon's and Clinton's misjudgments and Mr. Brooks has not deviated from this pattern.
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Democratic State Sen. Rhonda Fields, who helped pass gun-control legislation in 2013, argued that congressional Republicans are acting cowardly by not facing their angry constituents.
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The phony scientist is cowardly, manipulative, and—generally—bent on self-preservation above all else.
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Mark Twain comes along and, in a three-to-four-page comic rant about the animal, gives us a way to think of it as a cowardly, despicable little wretch that lives off carrion.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cowardly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of cowardly
14th century
Definition of cowardly
:being, resembling, or befitting a coward
- a cowardly retreat
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cowardliness
nounExamples of cowardly in a Sentence
He insisted on avoiding a cowardly retreat.
She made a cowardly decision to go along with the group.
a cowardly attack from behind
Recent Examples of cowardly from the Web
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And yet, the two Republican leaders who could make a tangible impact on the Trump presidency, right now, today, this morning, are too cowardly to even consider any sort of major action.
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Such views are cowardly, hateful and just plain wrong.
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Hate speech disguised as free speech is cowardly and shameful.
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How long do the people of the Seven Kingdoms stand behind their absentee king, their cowardly king hiding behind high walls?
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Sessions, who is wise to Trump, and laboratory-built for the job of implementing Trump’s racist law enforcement agenda, is reportedly determined to hang on so long as Trump is too cowardly to fire him.
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Because Stannis lapsed on the honor front early on and killed his brother in such a cowardly fashion, Brienne expected to find another craven Westerosi leader.
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Announcing this decision at 5 p.m. on a Friday afternoon is a cowardly act, developed in secret without engaging the thousands of Californians who have rallied to enact real health care reform.
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On Friday, Sean Spicer gave his off-camera press briefing that the White House press corps is still too cowardly to film.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cowardly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of cowardly
1551
cowardly Synonyms
Synonyms
chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, craven, dastardly, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], poltroon, pusillanimous, recreant, spineless, unheroic, yellowAntonyms
brave, courageous, daring, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, gutsy, hardy, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, valiant, valorousRelated Words
diffident, fainthearted, fearful, timid, timorous; afraid, frightened, scared; careful, cautious, wary; bashful, coy, shy; feeble, soft, unmanly, weakNear Antonyms
audacious, bold, brazen, cheeky, nervy; plucky, spirited, spunky; determined, resoluteSynonym Discussion of cowardly
cowardly, pusillanimous, craven, dastardly mean having or showing a lack of courage. cowardly implies a weak or ignoble lack of courage.
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- a cowardly failure to stand up for principle
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- the pusillanimous fear of a future full of possibility
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- secretly despised her own craven yes-men
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- a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians
COWARDLY Defined for English Language Learners
cowardly
adjective
Definition of cowardly for English Language Learners
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: afraid in a way that makes you unable to do what is right or expected : lacking courage
COWARDLY Defined for Kids
cowardly
play
adjective
cow·ard·ly
\
ˈkau̇-ərd-lē
\
Definition of cowardly for Students
1
:shamefully fearful
- a cowardly traitor
2
:showing shameful fear
- Then he … said how hard-hearted and cowardly it was to hurt the weak …
- —Anna Sewell, Black Beauty
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cowardliness
nounLearn More about cowardly
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cowardly Spanish Central: Translation of cowardly Nglish: Translation of cowardly for Spanish speakers
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