| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fearful |
| Synonyms: | afraid, anxious, apprehensive, backward, base, caitiff, chicken-hearted, cowering, cowhearted, craven, dastardly, diffident, dismayed, fainthearted, frightened, gutless, having the willies, jittery, lacking courage, lily-livered, nervous, no guts, panicky, paper tiger, pigeonhearted, pusillanimous, recreant, retiring, running scared, scared, shrinking, shy, soft*, spineless, timid, timorous, weak, weak-kneed, worthless, yellow*, yellow-bellied |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, courageous, daring, dauntless, unafraid, undaunted, unfearful |
| Main Entry: | below the belt |
| Part of Speech: | adjective, adverb |
| Definition: | nastily and unfairly |
| Synonyms: | cowardly, dirty, dishonest, foul, unjust, unscrupulous, unsportsmanlike |
| Main Entry: | craven |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | weak, timid |
| Synonyms: | chicken*, cowardly, dastardly, fearful, gutless, lily-livered, mean-spirited, poltroonish, pusillanimous, scared, timorous, weak-kneed, wimpish, wimpy, wussy, yellow*, yellow-bellied |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, courageous, heroic, strong |
| Main Entry: | dastardly |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | rotten |
| Synonyms: | base, contemptible, cowardly, craven, despicable, low, mean, pusillanimous, underhanded, vile |
| Main Entry: | fainthearted |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | timid |
| Synonyms: | afraid, cowardly, cowed, cowering, fearful, frightened, gutless, having cold feet, intimidated, lily-livered, meek, mousy, spineless, unassertive, weak, wimpy, yellow* |
| Main Entry: | gutless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | timid |
| Synonyms: | abject, chicken*, chicken-hearted, coward, cowardly, craven, faint-hearted, feeble, irresolute, lily-livered, pusillanimous, spineless, submissive, weak, wimpy, yellow*, yellow-bellied |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, courageous, gutsy, resolute |
| Main Entry: | nerveless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | scared to death |
| Synonyms: | afraid, cowardly, debilitated, enervated, fearful, feeble, nervous, petrified, spineless, timid, weak, yellow-bellied |
| Antonyms: | brave, courageous, nervy, unafraid |
| Main Entry: | sneaky |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | underhanded, dishonest |
| Synonyms: | base, contemptible, cowardly, deceitful, devious, disingenuous, double-dealing, duplicitous, furtive, guileful, indirect, low, malicious, mean, nasty, recreant, secretive, shifty, slippery, sly, sneaking, snide, stealthy, surreptitious, tricky, underhand, unreliable, unscrupulous, untrustworthy, yellow* |
| Antonyms: | aboveboard, candid, forthright, frank, honest |
| Main Entry: | timid |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | shy |
| Synonyms: | afraid, ambivalent, apprehensive, badgered, bashful, browbeaten, bullied, capricious, cowardly, cowed, cowering, coy, daunted, demure, diffident, fainthearted, fearful, feeble, frightened, gentle, having cold feet, humble, intimidated, irresolute, milquetoast, modest, mousy, nervous, pusillanimous, retiring, shaky, shrinking, soft, spineless, spiritless, submissive, timid, timorous, trembling, unassertive, unassured, unnerved, vacillating, wavering, weak, yellow* |
| Notes: | timid is used of a person's character or disposition; timorous is used of a person's action or behavior |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, daring, extroverted, fearless |