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| cow·ard·ly [ ków ərdlee ] |
adjective |
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| Definition: |
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1. not brave: showing a lack of physical or moral courage, or too scared to do a particular thing
 a cowardly attempt to avoid blame
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2. cruel and spineless: showing meanness or cruelty to people who are weaker or unable to defend themselves and fear of those who are equal or stronger
a cowardly attack on an undefended village
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| cow·ard·li·ness noun |
| cow·ard·ly adverb |
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| Word Key: Synonyms |
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cowardly, faint-hearted, spineless, gutless, pusillanimous, craven, chicken
CORE MEANING: lacking in courage
cowardly showing a lack of physical or moral courage, or too scared to do a particular thing;
a wicked and cowardly attack
too cowardly to admit his mistake
faint-hearted lacking resolve, boldness, or enthusiasm;
The gift trade's huge International Spring Fair is not for the faint-hearted.
spineless seriously lacking in willpower or strength of character;
criticized the president as spineless for withdrawing the nomination
their spineless acceptance of the imposition of new rules
gutless seriously lacking in resolve and determination;
They're too gutless to oppose the measure in public.
pusillanimous (formal) showing a contemptible lack of boldness and resolve;
The general couldn't tolerate pusillanimous performance in battle.
craven so weak and lacking in courage as to be worthy of contempt;
an act of craven stupidity
a craven surrender to pressure from big business
chicken (informal, often used by children and young people) showing a lack of courage, or too scared to do a particular thing;
The boy got called chicken by the other kids.
I'll show him who's chicken!
too chicken to tell him face to face |
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