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
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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
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025
Trump’s Education Department crusade is a cowardly betrayal.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 12 Mar. 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
Singling out its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department for special supervision in response to demands is nothing short of a cowardly, racist capitulation.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025
Trump’s Education Department crusade is a cowardly betrayal.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowardly
Adjective
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Moreover, Rocket has a relatively new CEO who wants to dominate the mortgage industry and is not afraid of technology, previously working at Intuit, PayPal, Groupon and Microsoft.—
Kenneth Squire,
CNBC,
24 May 2025
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The youngest cast member at the time, Williams set the tone for the raw emotion the show was not afraid to show over the years.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
24 May 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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Well, Netflix has found another one of these aspirational gurus who are scared to die and are willing to go to extreme lengths to preserve their physique — at any cost.—
Rebecca Aizin,
People.com,
16 May 2025
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More news: 3 Dodgers Under Most Pressure to Perform Following Shocking Roster Move While some fans appeared to be understandably scared, many just remained in their seats, seemingly unaware of the animal scurrying around them.—
Noah Camras,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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Maybe, when seeing these mass rallies, spineless congressional Republicans might fear for their jobs more from the people than the dictator-in-chief.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
12 May 2025
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Some great options include small palms, hardy banana, cannas, hibiscus, spineless succulents, bedding flowers, and grasses.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 May 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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The frightened Maltese was swimming in circles, but Desalvo and his colleagues were able to pull her to safety.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2025
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The first few attempts to free the dog failed, then the rescuers cleverly used a tarp to hoist the frightened animal to safety.—
Kendall Malinchock,
USA Today,
9 May 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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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Cowardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowardly. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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