as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
a cowardly bully who picks on the weak and defenseless vile charges that were made in a cowardly, unsigned letter
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in cravenly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cowardly
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Nothing is spared in recounting their odious criminal acts and the cowardly machinations of the church’s leadership to hide them.
—Mary Jo McConahay, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2025
The tech obviously works best when someone less cowardly sings directly into the mic.
—Oskar Oprey, Artforum, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Adjective
Playing Switzerland is a dangerous game for a Housewife — never choosing a side is seen as a cowardly position that quickly wears thin.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Nothing is spared in recounting their odious criminal acts and the cowardly machinations of the church’s leadership to hide them.
—Mary Jo McConahay, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
Adverb
Bill’s smarm has calcified into a kind of mad obsession; Hal is a starkly lonely and cowardly man.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2025
The tech obviously works best when someone less cowardly sings directly into the mic.
—Oskar Oprey, Artforum, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowardly
Adjective
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Hairston impressed at the combine in Indianapolis by running a 4.28 40-yard dash and has the speed to keep everything in front while not being afraid to get physical.—
Bryce Lazenby,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Apr. 2025
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Too often, people are afraid to raise their hands for help.—
Nell Derick Debevoise,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Though authorities in South Yorkshire and centrally were to blame for the disaster, some of the deceased were still fighting for their lives when those responsible started shifting the focus away from their own failings, buttressed by support from craven sections of the media.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
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Lead actors Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Anthony Mackie share minimal chemistry, though the episode’s most craven move has to be contriving a loophole giving the romantic opposites an easy out.—
Charles Bramesco,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Bears should be hoping other teams are scared off by Campbell’s shorter-than-ideal arms.—
Brad Biggs,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Apr. 2025
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But much of the problem then was that Europeans were simply not scared enough to do their part.—
Barry R. Posen,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Trump and his spineless acolytes continue to lie to the American people.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2025
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Make no mistake: New York's seniors are paying the price for Lawler's weak and spineless leadership.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Two baseballs flew down toward the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar from the left-field corner stands, the gutless moves of two cowards.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Oct. 2024
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And the really jaw-dropping part of AMLO’s gutless abdication?—
Tim Padgett,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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When a deputy arrived, the victim was shaking and frightened, the complaint said.—
Dylan Gentile,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
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The next night, her sister Gwen said Selonia became frightened when a relative who was visiting Selonia spotted Jimmy Ray Barnes near her home.—
Vladimir Duthiers, Paul LaRosa,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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In this instance, though, the Administration is not attempting to trample on powerless civil servants or migrants, or pusillanimous law firms, or universities that don’t have as much money as Harvard does.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Based on author Gregory Maguire’s spin on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the perspective of its most dastardly villain, Wicked follows would-be nemeses Galinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba as their unlikely friendship blossoms in college.—
Sezin Koehler,
EW.com,
28 Feb. 2025
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The closer analogy may actually be to Star Wars, a story about a boy named Luke Skywalker who is told that a dastardly villain called Darth Vader killed his father, Anakin Skywalker, only to discover that Vader is his father.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cowardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowardly. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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