dastardly

adjective

das·​tard·​ly ˈda-stərd-lē 

1

: cowardly

2

: characterized by underhandedness or treachery

a dastardly attack

a dastardly villain

dastardliness noun

Synonyms

• chicken
• chicken-livered
• chickenhearted
• cowardly
• craven
• gutless
• lily-livered
• milk-livered [archaic]
• poltroon
• pusillanimous
• recreant
• spineless
• unheroic
• yellow

Choose the Right Synonym for dastardly

cowardly, pusillanimous, craven, dastardly 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

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 dastardly in a Sentence

a dastardly attack on innocent civilians

his dastardly conduct in a critical moment haunted him for the rest of his life

Recent Examples on the Web

On WrestleMania Saturday inside Allegiant Stadium, arguably the greatest high-flyer in pro wrestling today stepped in for perhaps the best luchador of all-time, and did his best to overcome the dastardly Americano. —Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025

Fans of the beary lovable franchise will be delighted to discover that Hugh Grant's Phoenix Buchanan, the dastardly villain of Paddington 2, makes his return to the series. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 15 Feb. 2025

The dastardly First Order has set up a base in the northeast corner. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Phaedra Parks, a lawyer turned reality star turned mortician turned reality star, has become the surprise fan favorite of the second season of Peacock’s dastardly game of deception The Traitors. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1