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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Recent Examples of dastardly
Naturally, this doesn't last long, and he gets called in to help nab the elusive arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) — the most dastardly villain he's faced yet.
—
EW.com, 21 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
EW.com, 21 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dastardly
Adjective
-
Like other liberal historians, I’m outraged by Trump’s cowardly attacks on our guild.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
Twin Cities,
21 Aug. 2025
-
There was nothing like Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem with her face melting off, or Jesus appearing in South Park as part of Paramount's cowardly settlement of a ridiculous lawsuit filed by Trump.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Those were people who grew up afraid of anything or anyone different from them.—
Pat Blashill,
Rolling Stone,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Lastly, if the campaign performance isn’t meeting expectations, don’t be afraid to ask for a brainstorming session in person or on video if email communication just isn’t cutting it.—
Nandini Sankara,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is under severe pressure from President Donald Trump to restart one of the most craven and self-destructive practices of American politics in the 21st century: predatory gerrymandering.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 July 2025
-
Unlike the Founders who risked their lives, this bunch, with precious few exceptions, is too craven to risk even their jobs.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
When scared, dogs will likely make their body smaller, hunch over and try to move away.—
Dawn Kovell,
Mercury News,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Things were changing, and people—some people at least—were scared.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
School staff gathered the students in the cafeteria during the lockdown and tried to keep the frightened kids calm, said a school employee who refused to give an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter their name.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Aug. 2025
-
Investigators believe other potential victims may be too frightened to report similar attacks.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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
Adjective
-
The look features bright coral eyeshadow covering the eyelid, a fuchsia shade in the crease, and a swipe of fluorescent yellow eyeliner on the outside half of the eye and right under the brow.—
Andrea Park,
Teen Vogue,
20 July 2017
-
Three prominent Austin chefs teamed up with the Youngblood family to build a new restaurant from scratch that looks like a legacy chicken dinner house, down to the bright blue-and-yellow colors and the helpings of hot yeast rolls with honey.—
Bud Kennedy,
star-telegram,
19 July 2017
Adjective
-
That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Sep. 2024
-
In the world of The Boys, based on the gleefully scabrous 2000s indie comic-book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, superheroes are real, pop-culture-dominating, and with rare exceptions, entirely unheroic.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
13 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Dastardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dastardly. Accessed 2 Sep. 2025.
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