Definitions

cowardly

[kou-erd-lee] / ˈkaʊ ərd li /

ADJECTIVE

fearful

Synonyms

STRONGEST

dastardly

WEAK

afraid anxious apprehensive backward base chicken-hearted cowering cowhearted craven diffident dismayed fainthearted frightened gutless having the willies jittery lacking courage lily-livered nervous no guts panicky pigeonhearted pusillanimous recreant retiring running scared scared shrinking shy soft spineless timid timorous weak weak-kneed worthless yellow yellow-bellied

Antonyms

WEAK

bold brave courageous daring dauntless unafraid undaunted unfearful

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It wasn’t a cowardly Congress that killed the measure.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

But once war arrives, it’s futile and cowardly to try to stand apart from it on the pretext that you’re not responsible for it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

"Once again, the nebulous Boko Haram terrorist group carried out a cowardly attack last night on our military base at Barka Tolorom," Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said on Tuesday in a Facebook post.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

He denied the accusations in a statement, saying they "are baseless and are a cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy in hip-hop at this time".

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

I wasn’t going to accept his cowardly explanation in front of Mara without standing up for myself.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

cowardly

Example Sentences

Related Words