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
Many previous productions of Hamlet have emphasized the prince’s drive to avenge the death of his father, King Hamlet, at the hands of his uncle, the dastardly Claudius.
—
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Trump keeps clamoring for a Nobel Peace Prize, but his hopes are delusional since his incompetent dealings with Putin and Netanyahu have enabled them to continue their dastardly deeds.
—Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
The movie became a cause célèbre for the downtrodden treatment of the creative class in Hollywood, with many names coming out in support of the movie and its dastardly fate.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025
Serial killers with a code, far-future space operas, superheroes doing battle with dastardly villains.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Trump keeps clamoring for a Nobel Peace Prize, but his hopes are delusional since his incompetent dealings with Putin and Netanyahu have enabled them to continue their dastardly deeds.
—Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
The movie became a cause célèbre for the downtrodden treatment of the creative class in Hollywood, with many names coming out in support of the movie and its dastardly fate.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025
Serial killers with a code, far-future space operas, superheroes doing battle with dastardly villains.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dastardly
Adjective
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In practice, despite his rhetoric, Israel’s longest serving prime minister’s security policy was widely seen as cautious and relatively restrained, even derided as cowardly by political rivals, who also mocked his inability to make decisive moves.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
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Violence in a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Even with more women 55 and older in the workforce than ever before, women often are afraid to talk about menopause in the office.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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Bohemian homes are never afraid of color, particularly when AD100 designer Justina Blakeney is involved.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Missourians have the opportunity to put this craven power grab up for a vote.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
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There are lots of good rebuttals to this craven move.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Alolkoy, said despite the bear's small size and obviously scared state, the store quickly erupted in a chaotic scene.—
Rey Covarrubias Jr,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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Are players scared to talk about it publicly?—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Hundreds of frightened residents gathered in a grassy field near the fire station and refused to return home hours after the quake struck Bogo in Cebu province.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
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So stay calm, control your breathing, don’t be frightened.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
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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
Adjective
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Officers have stood guard at the yellow police tape around the clock since Sunday.—
John Wisely,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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Gothic cathedrals, art deco villas, vintage yellow trams, impeccably dressed signore, bright red Negronis glinting in the sun—these are some of the most classic symbols of Milan, but there’s a whole other side to the city, one that’s contemporary, cosmopolitan, and just plain cool.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
AFAR Media,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Sep. 2024
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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 8 Oct. 2025.
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