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
The bullet chamber, thanks to dastardly Judd, is empty.
—
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
Winter lasts a dastardly long time in Minnesota.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2026
Dickinson came close, but was unfortunately outdone by dastardly Internet gamesmanship.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 30 Jan. 2026
Even if the evil swarm cannot be stopped, the good swarm can deflect it and help save you from its dastardly efforts.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
Winter lasts a dastardly long time in Minnesota.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2026
Dickinson came close, but was unfortunately outdone by dastardly Internet gamesmanship.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 30 Jan. 2026
Even if the evil swarm cannot be stopped, the good swarm can deflect it and help save you from its dastardly efforts.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dastardly
Adjective
-
This caused a great clamor of approval, and a modicum of tepid ooh-la-la disapproval by the folks who actually approved but who were too cowardly to say so, back in the day.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
26 May 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
Adjective
-
Unlike the coolly impassive Pop artists, the Who weren’t afraid to get personal, or to let their art echo the anxious, kinky, maladjusted yammering in their own heads.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Meanwhile, aggressive immigration enforcement has made some people afraid to seek care at all, worsening public health outcomes.—
Daniela Flores,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
This origin tale of Don Diego Vega, and his masked adventurer/avenger alter ego Zorro, righting wrongs against craven evildoers in early-day California, was adapted into a silent movie hit in 1920.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
12 May 2026
-
It’s populated by craven, cowardly traitors.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Essentially, for all of the offense’s success during a surprising 2025 season, defenses still weren’t scared of the Patriots.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
-
The exchanges, which take place at the children’s school in Southern California, leave her scared and depressed for days.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
The entries never become frightened.—
Kate Casey,
Vanity Fair,
2 June 2026
-
Fireworks set off without authorization in Rome reportedly triggered a mass stampede of frightened horses during a late-night rehearsal for Italy’s annual Republic Day parade, injuring multiple riders and animals.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
-
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
-
Crossed spears of sunlight fall into it but only so far, and beneath their yellow illuminations Brith can see depths and more depths of water, darkening to obscurity.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
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In a burst of primary color and trompe l’oeil trickery, five dice—red, yellow, blue, green, white—are suspended against a maroon field densely latticed with dice shapes, the cubes appearing simultaneously to lie stationary on its pip-stippled surface and to tumble downward through space.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Yes, Arsenal fan Neel from New Delhi held his nerve on the final day to shake off the persistent and heroic challenge of six-year-old Wilfred — and the meandering, distinctly unheroic challenge of a 51-year-old journalist.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
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That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Dastardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dastardly. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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