as in fearfulness
a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
the cowardice shown by political leaders who were willing to give the Nazis whatever they wanted
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Recent Examples of cowardice
To dismiss that because of the greater good that followed is moral cowardice plain and simple.
—
Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
That was a shameful, cynical act of political cowardice and corruption.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
That's what leadership looks like in Cincinnati: negligence, silence and cowardice.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 7 Aug. 2025
Sometimes cowardice prevents us from trying a relationship that could have been wonderful but never happened.
—Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for cowardice
Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
That was a shameful, cynical act of political cowardice and corruption.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
That's what leadership looks like in Cincinnati: negligence, silence and cowardice.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 7 Aug. 2025
Sometimes cowardice prevents us from trying a relationship that could have been wonderful but never happened.
—Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for cowardice
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowardice
pusillanimity
Noun
-
Our logrolling, our stumps and their politics, our fisheries, our Negroes and Indians, our boasts and our repudiations, the wrath of rogues and the pusillanimity of honest men, the northern trade, the southern planting, the western clearing, Oregon, and Texas, are yet unsung.—
Mark Edmundson,
Harper’s Magazine ,
12 Dec. 2022
-
What a profile in pusillanimity.—
The Editorial Board,
WSJ,
23 May 2022
Cite this Entry
“Cowardice.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowardice. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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