as in fearfulness
a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
the pusillanimity shown by the press on this issue after the administration began applying pressure
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Recent Examples of pusillanimity
Given the President’s long-standing support for corporate tax cuts and deregulation of industry, this pusillanimity is perhaps not so surprising.
—
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Our logrolling, our stumps and their politics, our fisheries, our Negroes and Indians, our boasts and our repudiations, the wrath of rogues and the pusillanimity of honest men, the northern trade, the southern planting, the western clearing, Oregon, and Texas, are yet unsung.
—Mark Edmundson, Harper’s Magazine , 12 Dec. 2022
What a profile in pusillanimity.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 23 May 2022
The pusillanimity of American corporations on this subject continues to astound.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2021
First civil-rights groups accused it of pusillanimity.
—The Economist, 14 Apr. 2021
It is often said that, given the rank pusillanimity of most politicians, such backsliding is inevitable.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 26 Mar. 2021
Reid’s statement was striking for its sheer pusillanimity.
—Adam S. Posen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Our logrolling, our stumps and their politics, our fisheries, our Negroes and Indians, our boasts and our repudiations, the wrath of rogues and the pusillanimity of honest men, the northern trade, the southern planting, the western clearing, Oregon, and Texas, are yet unsung.
—Mark Edmundson, Harper’s Magazine , 12 Dec. 2022
What a profile in pusillanimity.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 23 May 2022
The pusillanimity of American corporations on this subject continues to astound.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2021
First civil-rights groups accused it of pusillanimity.
—The Economist, 14 Apr. 2021
It is often said that, given the rank pusillanimity of most politicians, such backsliding is inevitable.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 26 Mar. 2021
Reid’s statement was striking for its sheer pusillanimity.
—Adam S. Posen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pusillanimity
cowardice
Noun
-
The result is that Hamas has reaped the political windfall of its own callous cowardice.—
Aviva Klompas,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Monster doesn’t have answers for these questions, just a general disdain for Americans and broad observations about our own cowardice.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pusillanimity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pusillanimity. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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