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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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of cowardly
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
28 Apr. 2026
The joke is on the cowardly villagers, and on Hoja himself, all of whom now have to live in a village terrorized by two war elephants instead of one.
—
Perin Gürel,
The Conversation,
22 Apr. 2026
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
The fact that the administration, and our secretary of state and the president tried to blame Israel is outrageous, cowardly and dangerous.
—
Jim Defede,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Adjective
In September, in a cowardly move, ABC temporarily took Kimmel's show off the air, after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr made mob-style threats against Kimmel and ABC in response to comments the host made about the man charged with shooting Charlie Kirk.
—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
28 Apr. 2026
The joke is on the cowardly villagers, and on Hoja himself, all of whom now have to live in a village terrorized by two war elephants instead of one.
—
Perin Gürel,
The Conversation,
22 Apr. 2026
Adverb
Thomas Jefferson, the great hero of the Declaration of Independence, is shown as hypocritical, cowardly, manipulative, a schemer of every kind.
—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
The fact that the administration, and our secretary of state and the president tried to blame Israel is outrageous, cowardly and dangerous.
—
Jim Defede,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowardly
Adjective
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The ruling leaves trans student-athletes and their advocates feeling angry and afraid.
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Pregnant mothers are afraid of their babies not being able to have a home.
Adverb
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Maybe the only thing scarier than the opening scene of The Happening is Mark Wahlberg attempting to earnestly and fearfully talk to a plant.
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Videos on social media showed militant convoys in trucks and motorcycles moving through the town's deserted streets, while residents looked on fearfully.
Adjective
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In 2024, The Onion purchased Infowars, the conspiracy website born of the craven lunatic/Sandy Hook shooting denier Alex Jones.
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It’s populated by craven, cowardly traitors.
Adverb
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The other photo shows two of the cubs huddled in a corner of a habitat, with one eyeing the camera timidly.
Adjective
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Humans are scared of him, so Nero becomes Rocco’s favorite thief.
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People are very scared of being human.
Adjective
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Some of Thomas’s critique appeared to be aimed at weak-willed conservatives, including his fellow-Justices, for being, as Thomas perceives it, too spineless to stand up for the ideals enshrined in the Declaration.
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Republicans in Congress have become spineless sycophants to a president who only sees the beauty of this country in dollar signs.
Adjective
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Keane called out the Red Wings as gutless for waiting for a home game to exact revenge.
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But this seems a lot more gutless than ruthless.
Adjective
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Rodríguez acknowledged that many remain too frightened to return home even after inspections declared some buildings safe.
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Some days are spent inside an Ebola Treatment Unit caring for patients who are frightened, isolated, and desperately ill.
Cite this Entry
“Cowardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowardly. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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